Escaping Reality
by kyaranari.amulet.fortune
Summary: After Mason's death, Rose suffers from trauma. Dimitri wants to save her but Rose is being destroyed by darkness. Will Dimitri make it in time to rescue her from her own thoughts? What happens when Rose has strange powers and a certain Strigoi appears?
1. Chapter 1: Trauma

**Here's chapter 1!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any of the characters!**

**Chapter 1**

"Rose…? It's time to go…" Dimitri told me. The funeral for Mason had just ended. I stood there, frozen. I got him killed. I told him Dimitri's secret and he died because of me. The rain was pouring now, but still I didn't move. "Rose?" He asked again.

"I-I can't…"I whispered. It probably wasn't enough for Dimitri to hear, but knowing his sense of hearing, who knew? I heard him come closer.

"Rose…"

"I CAN'T LEAVE HIM!" I yelled. His footsteps stopped. I turned to him in anger. The anger was not only from his insensitiveness, but mostly because of my deadly mistake I made. I felt stupid beyond belief. Tears rushed down my cheeks and nothing could stop them. Not even Dimitri. The rain mixed with my tears so that was actually kind of nice. When I heard Dimitri take another step, I look at him with sadness. He reached for me, but I pushed him back, hard. "Don't touch me!" I screamed.

"Rose, I'm not going to hurt you!" He finally yelled out. Darkness consumed my heart and finally I glared at him. "Rose…your eyes…" I knew a dark aura surrounded me. Finally, I took off, dashing back to my room, leaving Dimitri where he was. When I got back to the school, everyone whispered and glared at me. That's right. They blamed me for Mason's death. Lissa, Mia, and everyone else knew what happened, yet they couldn't stop what had started. Rumors spread like wildfire here. When I eventually got back to my room, I finally just hid my face in my hands and sobbed. It was bad enough that Mason had to lose his life because of me. Now, I somehow had to face the rest of the school, the rest of reality.

"Knock, knock," I sniffed, but didn't answer. The knock was repeated.

"Rose?" It was Christian. He opened my door gently since it wasn't closed all the way.

"What do you want, Christian?" He stood at the door and watched.

"Lissa wanted me to ask you if you up for dinner…" His voice trailed off. He knew it was the wrong time. I shook my head.

"Sorry, just eat without me. I just want to be alone. Thanks," He nodded and left. When I heard the door close, I slid against my bed. I felt miserable and guilty beyond belief.

"Rose, dear?" I looked at the door. It was Lady Ozera now. I opened the door for her and she came in.

"What do you want, Lady Ozera? Can't you see I'm not in the mood?" I told her. She looked at me.

"Oh? Well, I thought I would just come by to tell you that Dimitri and I are leaving tomorrow," I looked at her quickly and she had a smirk on her face.

"If you take him, I'm going to kill you," I threatened her. Darkness bubbled beneath me and one more action from her would cause everything to run wild.

"That's no way to talk to her, Rose," I looked behind her and saw Dimitri with a sad face.

"You're leaving…" I looked at him and he nodded.

"Are you going to stop me?" He asked.

"Should I?" I turned my glance away from him. To be honest, I would do all I had to stop him, but I just didn't have the energy to do anything. "If you're going to leave, then leave. I won't stop you. Just know that besides Lissa, you're the only thing keeping me here. Christian can take care of Lissa so if you're leaving, I'm leaving too," I told him. Yes, I was planning to run. I didn't want to face the school like this. This was hell.

"Rose, you can't leave. Kirova has you on a tight leash," He warned me.

"Like that makes a difference! The minute I leave this school, I'm free. And unless you're here to stop me, I'm leaving anyways. I can't stay here like this," I started to pack a bag of my stuff. Dimitri grabbed my wrist.

"You're staying here and that is an order, Rose Hathaway," He growled at me. I turned my arm quickly and regained my hand back.

"Why do you even care? You're leaving too!" I yelled at him. "Why am I so different?"

"Because you're a child," Tasha answered.

"Stay out of this!" I yelled at her. Dimitri slapped me in return. I quickly packed what I needed and left my room.

"Roza. I will call the guardians to catch you. I'm staying here until tomorrow. I can catch you,"

"Little dhampir—woah…" I growled menacingly at Adrian. "Woah, there. Not going to hurt you. Belikov, what in God's name did you do to her?" Adrian carefully made his way towards me. "My dear, your eyes…they're gold colored…Belikov, her aura is so dark…I'm not kidding," He told Dimitri.

"Little dhampir?" He called for me.

"Help…" Suddenly I just slumped into his arms.

"Belikov!" Dimitri dashed towards me.

"Rose! Rose, are you okay?" I saw Dimitri's face as it became blurrier. I tried to get up, but somehow I couldn't stabilize myself and ended up collapsing onto the floor of the hallway. "Get a doctor here!" I heard Dimitri yell before my consciousness slipped from me.

_Late into the night…_

"Look, she's coming around," I heard a lady whisper. It was the doctor. I suddenly shot up, gasping.

"It's alright…we're here, Rose," I saw Dimitri and Olendski surrounding me.

"How are you feeling, Ms. Hathaway?" The doctor asked. I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. _'Crap. I lost my voice.'_ "Rose?" I tried to scream but no sound came out. "Oh dear, it's finally taken effect," She looked at me sadly.

"What took effect?" Dimitri asked.

"The one thing that can't be cured. Trauma. Experiencing Mason's death like that probably sent her into shock. When she passed out, it was probably her mind's last resort to protect her from the memories harming her," I obviously didn't say anything. I just sat on the bed looking at my arms and hands. This wouldn't be bad at all. Sure I wouldn't retort like I usually do, but maybe keeping quiet now was as good a method as any. Plus, it'd be creating a reason for Dimitri to stay with me.

"Guardian Belikov? Where are you?" It was Tasha. "There you are. What are you doing here? You should be packing. We don't want to rush tomorrow," She gave a fake smile towards me and Dimitri.

"Sigh…Tasha…I don't think I can go. I can't leave Rose in this condition," He said. I just stared at him.

"What condition? She looks fine to me," Dimitri shook his head.

"She lost her voice due to trauma. From the looks of it, she might not be getting it back for a while. Tasha, I'm sorry, but you'll have to find another guardian. That or if you can, we'll have to wait until she gets her voice back," Dimitri suggested. I couldn't react. If I did, Tasha would notice and I would be dead.

"I can wait. I have time. It's not like I have much to do back in Russia anyways," She gave me an angry glare behind Dimitri. I just ignored her. I tapped Dimitri's shoulder. He looked at me and I motioned for a pen and paper. He handed me a notebook he carried with notes from my classes.

'_Can I go back to my room?'_ I wrote down. He asked Olendski for an answer.

"You can leave. Nothing's wrong with you besides the lost voice. Just try to take it easy," I left on my own.

"Rose, wait!" It was Dimitri. Suddenly he was held back by Tasha.

"Guardian Belikov, she's fine on her own. Let her rest," Dimitri didn't follow me so I stopped to look back at him. He looked at me then at Tasha.

"I don't think I can do that. As her mentor, I have an obligation to make sure that she is alright at all times. Why don't you head back to your room and just unpack everything in the meantime," Dimitri followed me. When we were out of Tasha's view, I tried to hold his hand. However, he actually flinched away from me. I gave a sad smile and walked faster. He probably already had feelings for Tasha. To be honest, I didn't know why I wanted Dimitri with me. If he didn't love me, there was already no point in keeping him around. When I walked faster and faster, Dimitri suddenly came after me and held my hand. I squeezed it tight and he took me aside. He looked deep into my eyes and hugged me. "I'm so sorry, Roza…" He told me. "I'm sorry about Mason, I'm sorry about Tasha, and I'm sorry about my behavior towards you," He added on. I gripped onto his duster tightly and let go.

I just headed towards my room. I had class soon and I couldn't waste time like this. If he wanted to go, I couldn't stop him. He followed me to my room as I grabbed my material for Stan's class. "Are you going to be okay in Guardian Alto's class?" He asked. Why did he still continue to talk? It's not like I could answer him in the first place so I just ignored him. I couldn't respond so what was the point? I quickly headed to Stan's class right as the bell rang for classes to change. When I sat down, Stan looked at me, shocked.

"Why, Miss Hathaway, you seem to actually be early to class," Dimitri quickly approached Stan, I'm assuming to tell him what had happened. "I see…well, it's nice to have you in class," He smiled lightly. Great. Now I was being pitied. The students filed in eventually and Dimitri took his normal place in the back of the class to watch over me. And each person who saw me sitting at my desk started whispering. This sucked, seriously. I used to be the best and at the top. No one would dare challenge me, but because I couldn't tell them I couldn't talk, well, I couldn't reveal anything. All I could do was sit there.

"So Hathaway, how did you fight off the Strigoi that killed Mason?" Ralf and Jesse joked. I stood up quickly and glared at them.

"Rose!" Dimitri yelled at me. I sat back down quickly.

"Ooh..can't fight back now, can we?" They continued.

"That's enough you two!" Dimitri barked at them. I stood up again, darkness radiating from me. "Rose, calm down!" I strode towards the two of them. When I was within arm's length, the darkness from me somehow reached out, grabbing the two of them and throwing them to the other side of the class. They hit the blackboard and collapsed, groaning.

"MISS HATHAWAY!" Stan yelled at me. I didn't care at this point. I couldn't argue back. I couldn't talk. Nothing made a difference but this. I still had my physical strength and as long as I had it, I would use it. Darkness started to widen its range throughout the class.

"Roza! Stop!" Dimitri ran to protect the two of them. I hissed at him. "What they did was wrong, but that shouldn't make you react like this, what's going on?" He tried to touch me, but darkness pushed him back. I didn't show any emotions. "Is it darkness? Is that what's going on? Has it taken over?" I didn't nod or do anything. Jesse and Ralf were terrified.

"That's enough, Rose," I looked at whoever talked and it was Adrian. He came and put a necklace around me. Instantly, the darkness was suppressed and my legs gave out. Dimitri caught me by the waist as I was gasping.

"Why don't you get her to the infirmary? I'll give the class material to you Belikov, so just teach her while she's healing. I'll notify the other teachers of her absence too," Stan spoke up quietly. Dimitri put me on his back and took me to the infirmary. All the way there, I kept panting.

"We're almost there. Just hang in there, Roza," As soon as I returned back to the infirmary, Dimitri tucked me into a bed. "Does it hurt anywhere?" I kept looking at him as I laid on my stomach. He gently moved his hand up and down my back. When he hit my lower back, I tensed. "Over here?" I just continued to look at him. He massaged it gently. "Funny, you're not usually this quiet," He tried to joke. When he ran his hands over my lower back again, I tensed quickly. "Shh…it's alright. Just relax. It won't hurt as much if you relax first," He kept it up. "But really, is it the darkness that's hurting you this much?" I nodded a bit. "So the necklace?" He asked.

"It's just a charm," I finally answered.

"Rose…you can…" I nodded.

"I realized it when Adrian put the necklace on me. The darkness, when overwhelming and if I ever freak out like I did during class, I lose the ability the speak so as long as it's controlled, I can talk for the most part," I sat up in the infirmary bed and sighed.

"It's not easy to lose a person you love," He told me. I looked at him. He had a sad smile.

"What?" I asked again. What in the world is he talking about?

"Mr. Ashford. You loved him. You clearly showed that at the ski resort," He told me.

"Wait, what?" I was surprised. This was new. Could this all have been started by a misunderstanding?

**Well, that's the end of chapter 1! Hope you guys liked it! Review and tell me what you thought of it! **


	2. Chapter 2: Darkness's Grasp

**So here's chapter 2! Thank you so much Twilighternproud for being the very 1****st**** reviewer for this story! You're the best! Everyone else, please review! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any of the characters!**

**Chapter 2**

"Wait, what?" I asked, shocked. _'What did he mean love?' _

"Well, didn't you have feelings for Mr. Ashford?" Dimitri asked. I sighed.

"First of all, call him Mason. Seriously. Second, I liked him. I don't love him. God, Dimitri, I love you!" I told him. And then he just stood there blinking.

"But you were so close to him…" He started. I sighed. Well, this is what happens when you get what you want.

"I did it because of you. I did it to make you jealous. You kept being with Tasha and never gave me the time of day to even talk to you!" I told him. Then he didn't answer because there wasn't a way around it. I was right. "Look, I don't need to argue with you. I have enough of my problems too," He sighed.

"Rose…what's bothering you? You're not usually like this, even if you were pissed off at me. Something's bothering you and why you're not telling me, I don't know," He spoke up a bit. I finally turned to him.

"Nothing. Nothing's bothering me. Just forget about it. Look, I'm better. You have to leave with Tasha soon. You can go. I won't stop you, but what I said to you about me leaving, still stands," He sighed and caressed my cheek a bit. Finally he got up to leave. He probably thought he spent enough time on me already. As he headed to the door, I just watched as he opened it. When the door slowly closed, I finally whispered, "I love you, that's the problem" I got out of the bed and grabbed my stuff, heading to the door. Right when I stepped out, Dimitri stood there just watching.

"I love you, huh?" I turned to him, slightly startled. Suddenly he kissed me out of nowhere.

"No matter what happens, my Roza. I will always love you. Just as you decided to play with me at the ski resort, Tasha was the same. It was my way of ignoring what was going on with you and Mason. Tasha's a friend, but I don't love her the way I love you," I blushed and smiled a bit. He gave me a hug. "Are you okay now? Or do you want to continue with class?" He asked.

"I don't know. I don't want to, but I kind of want to. I just don't want anyone talking about Mason's death anymore…but obviously, that can't be helped. You know what, don't worry. I'll just go to class," I headed back to my room. Somehow I kept hearing footsteps though so I turned around and saw Dimitri. "Something wrong?" I asked him.

"No. I just want to make sure you got back safely," I smiled.

"I'll be fine. You have a class to teach, right? Get going," I pushed him in the opposite direction. He chuckled.

"Rose?" I looked at him.

"No outbursts, no hurting students, right?" I gripped my fist tight and he noticed it.

"I know. I'll have it under…control…don't worry…" He sighed.

"Every time you say that, I worry," I quickly grabbed my stuff and when I came back out, Dimitri still stood there, actually, texting.

"You text?"

"Should I not be texting? I'm quite tech savvy believe it or not," He told me.

"One, don't say tech savvy. Two, nothing's wrong with texting. Just for you, it is," He ruffled my hair. "Who are you texting anyways? Who else texts?" I asked.

"Headmistress Kirova?" He said in a question form.

"Wait, what? That old, mean, bitch actually knows how to text? Wow, she's not as stupid as she looks," Dimitri started dragging me to class.

"Come on, no more complaining. You're not supposed to be texting in class, okay? By the way, if you're going to class, the headmistress gave me permission to watch over you," He said quite plainly.

"Say what? Dimitri, I'll be fine! Just, go teach," Right before I entered Alberta's class, I pushed him away.

"Miss Hathaway, just what are you doing?" I looked at the position I was in.

"Nothing. Dimitri, I'm fine. Get going. Now," Dimitri looked at me. Quickly, he wrote down his phone.

"You're not supposed to text, but if you absolutely need me, I'll be right down the hall. Okay?" I nodded and he left, looking back now and then. I entered class, but even I was still correct. The students were still whispering about what happened. But now, I had to know better. That or my Russian jailor would be on my tail. I sighed. Alberta started teaching and everyone quieted down. Alberta was known for giving detentions should anyone disrupt the class. But something was wrong. The students started bouncing notes back and forth behind Alberta's back. Finally, one accidentally landed on my desk. I didn't know if I should read it or not. It was just there. It was tempting not to read it, but finally I opened the crumpled note.

'_Did you hear? Rose attacked Ralf and Jesse earlier. They said she used some dark magic or something.' _

'_Well, she's kind of weird. Always, acting so cheerful, you'd figure something is actually wrong with her. I know she has a bond with Vasilisa, but even so, she's always hanging around with that Guardian Belikov of hers. It's disgusting.'_

I crumpled the note again and stood up.

"Is something wrong, Miss Hathaway?" Alberta asked as I stood up in front of the class. This was my chance to either ruin everything or keep calm and let them go at it. I slowly sat down and the class giggled no doubt because of my odd behavior.

"What? Can't fight back? Not so tough now, are you?" A guy, one from Jesse's group mocked. I slammed my fist into my desk.

"Look, mister. I'm not in the best mood. And if you're so bold as to mess with me, you'll end up like Jesse with Ralf and I can promise you that," I took the guy by the collar.

"Let him go, Miss Hathaway," Alberta warned. "Now," I let him go, but not before punching him hard in the face first.

"You don't know what happened so don't talk as if you do! So I was stupid and Mason got killed. I know that already! There's no reason to shove it in my face. I feel bad enough as is. Jesse and Ralf were being stupid. They knew better and they still messed with me. Once I take this necklace off, all of you guys will be in harm's way no doubt. So don't give me a reason to," I warned the class.

"What happens if you take off the necklace? You'll go crazy?" The guy still mocked. I took off the necklace and next thing I knew, darkness reached him, grabbing him by the collar before slamming him onto the ground. Because the necklace was off, I lost my voice, but I wasn't worried. I could still get my point across.

"Miss Hathaway, office, now," I glared at Alberta and hissed. Shocked, even she jumped back. I took out my cellphone quickly. I started to text Dimitri but eventually, I hesitated to click 'send', but nonetheless, I sent it knowing my thinking at least was still rational. I closed my eyes as tears fell while I clenched my fists. The class whispered and I just waited. I didn't want to fight anything anymore, and at this point, I just needed Dimitri. In a few minutes, I saw him with his duster rush in. Alberta pointed to me and Dimitri came to me quickly.

"Hey, look at me. Are you okay?" I just shook my head. "It's alright. Take deep breathes. I'm here. Everything's going to be alright," Tears kept falling one by one. "Shh…" He wrapped his arms around my head and just brought me towards him. "Do you want to go home?" He asked me. I nodded, unable to speak. He saw my hand and saw the necklace. "Rose…" He picked me up easily as well as my stuff and excused me from Alberta's class. On second thought, maybe I couldn't survive this. This was hell to a whole new level. All the while, when Dimitri took me back to my room, he cooed at me, telling me everything was alright. As he tossed my backpack to the floor he gently laid me down on my bed. "It's going to be okay. I'm here..." I sniffed, grabbing onto him for what seemed like dear life. He brushed my hair aside, trying to put the necklace back on, but I hit it aside as it hit the floor. "Rose…" I climbed onto his lap instead and just curled up. He rubbed my back as I cried. I think after a decent hour, I managed to cry myself to sleep.

_A couple hours later…_

"Mm…" I heard my voice and instantly looked down to see the necklace on me as well as the blankets of my bed draped over me. I yawned and got up. "What time is it?" I looked and saw 4 PM on my clock. Then I noticed a letter on my desk so I picked it up.

_My Roza,_

_ By the time you wake up, I'm probably gone. I have a class to teach for advanced combat from 4 PM to 6 PM. Yes, it is your class, but I'll let you off for today. If you want to come watch, you can. You could probably get some practice in. You're still assigned for your combat trials at 9 PM tonight, but I told them that you would probably not make it due to your condition. If you want to delay it, then there's no need to come to practice today. If you want to go with it still, then you're more than welcome to join your class in the Gym. I'll see you later, love. _

_ ~D. Belikov_

I quickly got dressed. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap! I totally forgot!" After stumbling around in my clothes, I sprinted for the gym. When I got there, everyone was sparring. Alberta, Dimitri, and Stan were all watching on the sidelines, monitoring.

"Rose!" I turned and saw Dimitri. "Didn't you get my note?" I nodded and shook my head.

"I…I need to pass that test. I can't take time off like that," He looked at me sternly, seeing if there was any hint of hesitation in me. I just stared back at him.

"I can't let you do this. Rose, why don't you sit out for now and we'll have a private practice later?" Dimitri asked. I shook my head.

"I need to do this. If I lose control, you can take me down yourself. But I need to get through this. My way," I challenged him.

"Fine. I'm giving the remaining time. You spar with me and only me. Come on," He took me to an empty mat. I got into a crouching position with a fake stake that he tossed me. "Come!" I charged at him and the two of sparred in almost a dancing style. Matching one another, moving around one another, when our stakes clashed, darkness started to bleed through. But that was all that was needed for Dimitri to knock me down. Hesitation, a guardian's worst enemy, got to me.

"Rose!" I pushed Dimitri back.

"No! Just let me breathe for a minute," Dimitri stopped and Alberta and the others came closer. "Get back!" They stopped. I looked at my necklace as it glowed. I felt darkness pulsing through me like a heartbeat. It was powerful. It was overwhelming, and most of all, it was dangerous. The necklace was weakening. Adrian's magic was nowhere near strong enough to control this feeling. When I took off the necklace, darkness burst everywhere.

"Get back! Everyone, get back!" Dimitri yelled. I stood there as the darkness just grew and expanded. My vision grew sharper, my sense of smell, and I even had fangs. "Rose, control it!" I opened my eyes and charged at Dimitri. My speed was fast, almost rivaling that of a Strigoi. I slammed him down onto the mat and hissed at him. He only gave me a gentle look. "It's okay. It's alright. No one's going to hurt you," He tossed his stake aside. I growled at him. "It's okay…it's okay…Rose, it's me. Focus. You can do it," I shook my head. "Look at me, love. You can do it. It's only me," My vision focused onto him. It was Dimitri. I gave him a weak smile as he touched my face. But right then and there, the minute my anger dissipated, I collapsed onto him. "ROSE!" The teachers quickly crowded around me. "Rose! Hey!" I stirred a bit and I heard him sigh. I turned slowly to Dimitri.

"Hey…comrade…" He hugged me tight.

"Don't scare me like that," I shook a bit before standing up. "How are you feeling?"

"The darkness is gone in the meantime. I think I've expended all the energy from it so I should be fine for a while," I sighed. "I think I'm fine now. Can we…again?" Dimitri smiled.

"Of course. Get into position. Now we fight for real. No more darkness in the way, right?" I nodded.

"Good. Come," I charged at him, now with my real self. I used all the strategies he taught me and eventually, after sparring for a decent ten minutes, I managed to trap Dimitri underneath me.

"I win, comrade," He chuckled.

"That's my girl," He gave me a quick kiss.

"Guardian Belikov!" Great…Tasha. "Oh, Guardian Belikov!" Tasha came over and I quickly got off of Dimitri. "Would you be a dear and help me with something?" Dimitri started to get up, but the minute he did, I unknowingly pulled onto his duster.

"Rose?" I just sat there frozen. I looked at him and it almost seemed I failed to comprehend him. "Rose? Can you let go? I'm just gone for a minute. Nothing to be afraid of," I shook my head slowly.

"I can't let you go. I won't let you go," I whispered.

"Rose, I have to. It won't be long. The others are here and they will watch you. I'll be back soon,"

"No…" I still didn't let him go. I knew something was wrong. Going with Tasha was going to prove it.

"Rose, let go of Guardian Belikov. Now," Alberta commanded. When I felt my neck, the necklace was off. I had taken it off from before and I didn't put it back on. When I turned to Alberta in an unusual way, Dimitri had a firm grip on my jaw, making me turn to him.

"Look at me. Control it, just for a few minutes," I gave him a confused look. He took my hand that was grabbing his duster and slowly and careful got me to let go. "Just a few minutes. Remember, I can text," He reminded me. I let him walk. I closed my eyes, but the minute he opened the gym door, something snapped.

"NO!" Dimitri turned and a wave of darkness emitted from me, slamming all the students against the walls as well as the teachers.

"Rose!" Anger and fury fueled the darkness and my hatred for Tasha was endless. "Rose! Tasha, stay over there," Dimitri rushed past the force from the darkness that came from and slammed me against a wall. "Rose! Snap out of it!" Darkness kept at it though and I couldn't control it. I looked for a way out, a way to keep everyone else out of danger. A screeching sound came into my head and I gasped in pain. Eventually, I couldn't hear Dimitri and started thrashing against his hold. As I continued, my vision started to fade out too. I had energy to fight so I did, no longer knowing who I was fighting or who was even restraining me. My world had submerged into pure darkness. Pulses of darkness kept sending shockwaves and whoever restrained me was being hit hard. Suddenly, everything stopped. There was a shield, a warm embrace. Someone was hugging me tightly. I started sobbing. I was scared, terrified. Not being able to see or hear was definitely that, terrifying. Whoever it was, I simply felt them rub my back and kissing my neck softly.

"It's alright…shh…I've got you. Everything's alright now…" I quickly looked towards where the voice came from. "Rose? It's me," My hearing came back.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Over here. I'm here now," Again, I heard Dimitri's voice.

"I'm scared. I can't see you," My voice trembled. He held me tighter.

"It's alright. I'm here. Even if you can't see, I'm here," I quickly felt for his hand and he held my hand too. "See? It's me," I felt tears streaming down my face. Then I heard a thumping sound. It was his heart beating. Slowly, colors came back into my vision. Blurry as they were, I regained my sight little by little and eventually, I saw Dimitri in front of me. "Hey, there," I looked at myself and saw my hands shaking. "Hey, look at me. Everything's okay now. You're safe," It took me a while to understand what he said, but even now, he simply smiled at me. "Come on. How about the both of us go with Tasha to help her out?" I didn't answer him, but apparently it was a rhetorical question when he picked me up into his arms like a child. I saw Tasha glare at me before leaving with the both of us, but at this point, I couldn't care less. Whatever happened back there never happened before. Just what was wrong with me?

**Well, that's the end of chapter 2! Hope you liked it! Hmm…and what is wrong with Rose? Anyways, please review! This is my very first original Vampire Academy fanfiction, so reviews would help!**

**Also, for the people reading Two Choices, Feeling Horrible, that story is on hold for now because I'm in a major writing block for that story. So, until I update, it will be on hold. Sorry!**


	3. Chapter 3: To Protect the One You Love!

**So here's chapter 3! Thanks so much for the reviews so far guys! Keep it up!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any of the characters!**

**Chapter 3**

"Can you help me reach that box up there and then push it to the bottom of the bed, at the very back?" Tasha asked Dimitri while I sat on her bed. Dimitri smiled and of course, did the job while I sat there looking like an idiot, still trying to figure what had happened in the last ten, maybe fifteen minutes. When the job was done, obviously Dimitri and I left. But I could tell from Dimitri's face that he was past worried. Even before leaving, he looked at me. His thoughts were clear as day. He could keep up a guardian mask, but what happened in the gym, scared him. I sensed it. I smiled at him and finally got up to leave.

"Rose!" He came after me. I turned back to him and gave him a fake smile.

"Dimitri…?" I called his name quietly.

"What? What is it? Is everything okay?" He was definitely concerned.

"Nothing. Everything's…fine…" I kept walking.

"No! Look at me!" He pulled my wrist to force me to look at him. "Tell me the truth!" I looked at him, and then pulled my wrist back forcefully. I kept walking off. I couldn't see him like that, knowing I was the one that caused him so much worry. "Rose!" He cut me off and looked at me. Tears streamed down my eyes. Quickly, he embraced me. "I'm so sorry…I'm sorry…Rose…" He whispered. I pushed him gently, away from me.

"I need to rest," I whispered quietly.

"Are you okay?" He asked, worried still. I finally shook my head.

"I don't feel well at all…" I took another step and stumbled. My vision was blurring and things were spinning. "Crap…"

"Rose!" Dimitri held tight onto me. "Hang in there! Hey!" Eventually I couldn't focus on a single thing and blacked out in Dimitri's hold.

_In the early evening…_

"She's coming around," I slowly opened my eyes and saw Dimitri and Dr. Olendski.

"Roza, how are you feeling?" Dimitri asked. I didn't answer him, though it wasn't because I didn't want to. Rather, I just felt like I didn't have any energy to.

"Her heartbeat is stable, she's fine. Just don't stress her out anymore," Dr. Olendski told Dimitri before leaving the room. I looked at Dimitri and he took the wet towel off my forehead, replacing it with a new, cold towel.

"How are you feeling? Better?" I looked at Dimitri.

"What…happened?" I asked.

"You don't remember? You passed out. When I brought you here, Olendski said it was due to stress and fatigue. You had a sky rocket fever for the last few hours," I reached my hand out and he grabbed it instantly. I pulled his hand over my eyes and just told him to stay there. After a while of just silence, I sat up and started to leave. "Where are you going?"

"Practice. I still have my test tonight," I told him.

"Rose, you're not going. I won't allow it!" He told me.

"You're not my father. You don't have a say in this. I need to pass this test. If I don't, you know the consequences. I have to stay behind the rest of the school year. This test tells me if I can be Lissa's guardian. I have to do it. There's no excuse to skip it," I headed back to my room, feeling fine now.

"Rose, you're going to collapse if you push yourself too hard!" Dimitri argued back.

"Will you just stop it already? My mind's made up. I know certain people get involved in the test. Apparently you got chosen right?" This was no time for me to just lie around sick. I was still the best and I still had to prove that to him apparently. I wasn't going to go down without a fight. Rose Hathaway doesn't do that. Dimitri eventually left knowing he couldn't change my mind. I started to get my stuff ready as I looked at Adrian's necklace lying on the desk. After staring at it for some time, I decided to not take it. I needed all the strength I had so I couldn't be restraining myself. By the time I got ready, all the students were at the gym. Dimitri was nowhere to be seen. _'I wonder where he went.'_ The proctors stood in front of us, none of which I recognized.

"Welcome students to your semester two trial. This will determine which of you students can continue to your next semester of being a guardian and which level at that. Each one of you will be put in your own trial. Believe me, this is no easy exam. Each of us has taken a person you love the most. Injured or not, you have to rescue them. There will be Strigoi in the forest, however, not real ones. They are simply some extra guardians here dressed up as them, but they have no intention holding back. To ensure there is no favoritism, all guardians will be ones from the Lehigh College," The screen in the gym was pulled down and a projection was created. "This is the roster. Find your number and your destination. When you get there, you have six hours to rescue whoever it is," Then it finally dawned on me.

"Dimitri…" I looked at the screen as they projected each and every "loved one". Everyone gasped as most of them were their parents. I looked at my number. "Sixteen…" I looked back at the screen and there Dimitri was, wounded and tied up. Tears stung at my eyes. This wasn't right. This wasn't fair. Then I remembered Dimitri's words. _'Not everything in this world is fair.'_

"We have your numbers all in a roulette. The first number chosen is the first student to enter their trial," We saw the ball spinning in a roulette and I looked intently at the screen's projection.

"Number 16, you're up first," I stepped forward, hands clenched into fists. I won't forgive them…I won't forgive them for hurting Dimitri like that. "Rosemarie Hathaway, it seems you are in the forest just right behind this school. Here is a rocket flare should you decide to throw in the towel or if you are severely injured for any purposes. Good luck. Also, we will be monitoring your progress here so should anything severe injuries happen, we will stop the exam." I snatched the flare from the proctor and headed into the forest. There, a guardian gave me a watch set to six hours. This was cruel.

"Are you ready?" The lady asked. I didn't know any of these people.

"Yeah. Bring it," The lady clicked a button and my timer started. I dashed into the forest with only one thing in mind. I had to get Dimitri back. These people were relentless. _'Stealing our loved ones and hurting them just for a stupid test. Are you joking?'_ Then after what seemed to be an hour passed determined by my watch, I was getting nowhere. I didn't even have a map and this forest was huge. I slowed to a brisk walk. I couldn't just waste my energy running. But where would I even look? I started looking around for clues. The silence in the forest was deafening. As I kept walking, still no clues were to be found. I was losing time as well. How did this even work? Wait…there weren't any rules. Anything could be done. I climbed up into a tree to look from above. I started jumping through trees, taking my view into a bird's eye view. He had to be somewhere here. When I looked at my watched, another half hour had passed. "Shit," I cursed. Then an idea came into mind. Dimitri was wounded. He was hurt for real. That meant he couldn't have seen this coming. He probably thought he had been kidnapped for real if he didn't even recognize these guardians. Clues! Dimitri had to have left clues somewhere. I looked around. What type of clues would he even put up? This was impossible. I looked around again from the trees. There, lying on a path was a rose. I jumped down to it and took out my stake. I looked in front of me and there was a "Strigoi". The man grinned evilly.

"Where is he?" I asked menacingly.

"Who is he?" He asked back mockingly.

"Dimitri. Where is Dimitri?" I yelled at this point. I was losing time because of this idiot.

"Why would I-" I cut him off by launching a punch at his face. Because the punch connected, he was sent flying into the ground.

"Don't mess with me," I felt darkness bubble within me, but at this point, I couldn't care less. "I said where is he?" I asked again.

"I can't-" I punched him again, then two more times.

"ANSWER ME!" I started crying. Rage and fury showed in my eyes and the man eventually gave in.

"He's straight up ahead. He's tied to the giant tree in the back. Biggest one you'll ever see," I left him there and kept running. I looked at my watch. Three hours left. I pushed more darkness into my body and I sped up. I ran into three other "Strigoi" and attacked all of them with no hesitation, leaving them all bloody and unconscious. Then when I saw the tree, I saw Dimitri, unconscious and tied to a tree. "Dimitri!" I screamed. He didn't move. Just how badly injured was he? I walked slowly towards him crying along the way. When I got to him, I kneeled down and nuzzled against him.

"R…rose…" I sobbed as he called my name.

"I'm here…I'm here…" He chuckled lightly, and then coughed.

"My, my, what a romantic scene," I turned to the voices and saw eight guardians surrounding us.

"Give…up…you…" Dimitri tried to speak. I stood up.

"Don't worry," I gave him a smile with tears still running down. "I'm going to kill them," I turned to them. I triggered as much as darkness as I could until my body was emitting a dark aura, like a demon. "I'm going to kill them all. Just you watch," I growled. The guardians came at me with their stakes. "Pathetic," Just extending my hand in front of them, a dark burst of energy was shot at them. "You guys are pathetic. You can't fight me. I'm on a different level then you guys," I sneered at them.

"Rose…" I heard Dimitri, but ignored him. Anyone who hurt Dimitri, they were going to die. The guardians stood up and tried to get close again and again, I shot at them with darkness's energy.

"What? Can't put up much of a fight?" One individual person charged at me. A word came into my head. It sounded like a spell, but I was willing to try it. He charged and jumped back.

"Bahlskra!" I shouted with my hand faced to him. The guy was immediately captured by darkness. He froze and I lifted him up into the air.

"Scared now, are we?" I teased him. "How does it feel to be weak now?" I clenched my hand a bit and I heard his bones breaking.

"Stop! Please!" He started begging. I clenched my fist now and finally his bones in his arms snapped. I threw him aside as the other guardians tried to help him.

"Pathetic," I turned back to Dimitri who was conscious, but not to a full extent. He was weary as I bent down to him. "Spell error!" I yelled out another spell. The rope around him snapped and Dimitri relaxed a bit.

"Rose…you…have…to stop…" I turned back to them.

"I can't. They deserve to die," I glared at them still.

"You're going too far!" A guardian started charging at me.

"Signum!" He was lifted into the air and thrown into a tree. The leader of the eight of them glared at me.

"You're a monster!" He growled. He charged at me.

"Signum!" He dodged the spell and kept coming at me. "Bahlskra!" Again, he dodged the darkness's grasp. I kept backing as he approached quickly. I had to find another spell, but nothing was coming to me. I tried to think. _'Come on! I need a spell!'_ Finally another whisper came into my mind. "Sand coffin!" The man was finally trapped by sand from the ground. He tried to break free, but it didn't work. I sighed.

"I'll admit you're good. But I'm better," I slowly clenched my hand to torture him. He growled and yelled, twisting and turning.

"Stop!" I stopped suddenly to see Dimitri standing, a bit unstable, but standing. "Rose, snap out of it! This isn't you!" I looked back at the guardian.

"I have to kill them. They killed Mason!" I screamed at him.

"Rose, take a good look! They're regular guardians. They're not Strigoi!" I focused my look at them, and then looked back at Dimitri. "Rose, the Strigoi who killed Mason, he was dead! You killed him back at Spokane," He told me. The whispers returned. _'Signum, bahlskra, signum, bahlskra.'_ Suddenly I had a headache and collapsed in pain. "Stop…stop it…"

"Rose!" Dimitri yelled.

"Shut up!" I screamed as the voices in my head got louder. I was going crazy. My head felt like it was splitting in two.

"Rose!" Dimitri yelled at me once more.

"No!" My dark powers went out of control. Darkness started forming into sparks and trees were lit on fire.

"Get back! Head back to the academy!" Dimitri yelled at the injured guardians. All of them fled, but Dimitri.

"Rose, look at me! It's me! Snap out of it! You're getting out of control!" I turned to Dimitri as trees started to burn around us. "I have to get you out of here! Shut down the darkness. Fight it!" He encouraged me. "Let me save you!" He yelled. I stood there frozen as darkness emitted from my body continued to run rampant. Dimitri got struck by a spark and collapsed onto one knee, but he still got up as I watched.

"Run…" I whispered to him while I still could

"No! I'm not running. I won't run! How do you expect me to live with myself after I run if you die here?" He came closer to me. While my powers were out of control, I stepped back. "Rose, I'm going to come and I'm going to stop you from going out of control. Just stay there!" He yelled while trees around us started falling. Dimitri coughed as the smoke started to get to him. But once he got to me, he wrapped his arms around me. "It's alright. It's time to stop. I'm safe. No one is going to hurt us anymore…shh…" He just held me, unmoving. The aura around me dulled and finally disappeared. My legs gave out as Dimitri caught me. "You're safe now," I looked weakly at him.

"You're…alright…" I whispered as he picked me up.

"Yes, I'm alright now. You did a good job. It's time to rest now," He slowly walked back to the school where the result on my test was a "Pass" My vision started to blur and I saw spots.

"We need to get her into a hospital!" I heard Dimitri yell when we headed to the gym. I coughed up a lot of blood and Dimitri started yelling louder. "She's having a heart attack!" At some point after that, I passed out in Dimitri's arms.

_One week later…_

"Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep," I slowly opened my eyes to see a bright light above me. _'Am I dead?' _ I looked to my side and saw an IV in my arm connected to a machine. The room was colored sky blue and white. As my vision focused onto farther objects, I saw Dimitri sleeping in a chair. _'Where was I?'_ I looked around. I realized after some time I was in a hospital. Oh yeah, I had a heart attack earlier. I felt the oxygen mask on my face as I reached for it. I inhaled and exhaled and the heart monitor reacted.

"Rose!" Dimitri ran over to me and I looked at him. "You're alive…you're really alive…" He hugged me tight and I hugged him back.

"Of course. You didn't think I'd given up the will to live that easily, did you?" I tried to joke. Tears streamed down from his face. "Why are you crying?" He looked surprised and wiped his eyes, trying to smile.

"During your operation, you died, twice. The doctors didn't know if they could save you, but you managed to get through it. But when you got to the room here, the doctor said, they wouldn't know if you wake. Roza…I thought you died," I looked deep into his brown eyes and saw them bloodshot. He had been crying before. Dimitri quickly called the nurses, evading my look. The nurses and doctors all looked at me happily as they all applauded. Wow. I evaded death a total of three times now. I sat up and Dimitri came back to me. I took a step and stumbled. "Easy there. You haven't walked for a week," He stabilized me and gently walked me over to a wheelchair.

"Thanks," Dimitri simply smiled. "Can I leave the hospital?" I asked the doctors but they all shook their heads.

"Miss Hathaway, it'd be best if you stay put for a while longer. We're hoping to discharge you within the week, but for today, you can go outside, but you're not allowed to leave yet," Dimitri wheeled me outside where I got fresh air after a long time. I took a deep breath and sighed. As Dimitri put on the brakes, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"Rose?" He spoke quietly.

"Hm?" I nuzzled at his arms around me.

"I know I don't say this much, but I love you, my Roza. And I was wondering if you would like to be my girlfriend," He stated simply. I turned to him and looked at him seriously.

"You're not kidding, are you?" I spoke.

"No, I'm not," He gave me a surprise kiss and I kissed him back with everything I had.

"So I'm taking that as a yes?" He asked again.

"Yes," I answered him. He had the biggest grin I had ever seen from him. He picked me up out of the wheelchair and turned in a circle, hugging me the entire time. "So what about Tasha then? You know she's literally out to get me, right?" I told him.

"Why would she be out to get you? Look, I'll deal with her. And if I have to resign because of you, I will," He kissed me again. I smiled at him, but now there was another problem. Tasha probably wasn't going to go down without a fight.

**Hey there! Hopefully you guys enjoyed the chapter. I know it's a bit violent, but it's all part of the story. Review, review, review! I put a LOT of effort into this chapter so it'd be nice to see what you guys think of it so far! **


	4. Chapter 4: Losing Control of Life

**So here's chapter 4! Please everyone, if you're reading the story, if you can, review! So far, I've only had 4 reviews and this is the fourth chapter. So please review! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any of the characters.**

**Chapter 4**

"Rose, you there?" I turned and looked at Dimitri. After a couple hours of being outside, Dimitri wheeled me back to my room and I just sat on the balcony, looking at the city.

"It's time for your shot," I groaned.

"No. I've had like two already. I don't need another one," I told him.

"Rose, you don't have a choice. And please don't make me order you to stay still," I stood up and just looked at him in a hostile manner.

"No means no. I'm serious Dimitri," I sat on my bed and sighed.

"Miss Hathaway, we really have to-" Darkness triggered and the nurse was frozen to her spot as darkness surrounded her, then pushing her into a wall. Her face turned into a look of horror, but when Dimitri gave me a disappointed look, I stopped. She dropped the injection and I just hid in the bed. Ever since the incident during my test, I was always afraid to use my powers to a certain end. I heard Dimitri pick up the injection and put it on the nearby table.

"Rose…? You okay?" He asked quietly. I didn't answer. "Rose?"

"Don't touch me…please…" I felt his hand on my shoulder and I shrugged him off. "I said don't touch me!" I roared at him. But once I realized it, I flinched from him.

"There's no need to be scared. I won't hurt you. Here, give me your arm. We'll just get this over with. Alright?" I got away from him.

"Dimitri…?" I whispered quietly.

"Yes?" He looked at me worriedly.

"I want to leave," I told him straightforwardly. "I want to leave, and I don't want to come back. I just want to forget that all this ever happened!" I cried.

"Rose…you can't leave. You can't just give up your whole guardian career," He told me.

"Then you can stay here. But I don't. Dimitri, ever since you spoke of leaving with Tasha, nothing held me to this place anymore. I don't know if you cleared it up with her, but when I disappear, I don't want any trace of my past following. I don't need Tasha coming after me, because if you know it or not, she hates me. She's been after me ever since Spokane…" Suddenly, Dimitri's phone vibrated. He looked at it with a solemn look. "It's her…isn't it…It's Tasha," I wiped my eyes.

"Rose…I'm just her friend. Nothing more. I don't understand why you can't see it," He started to raise his voice.

"Because I don't Dimitri! She loves you just as much as I love you, but because she's a Moroi, she has a head start. Don't you ever realize that's why she pulls out the "we can have a family" card? It's because she knows I can't do that for you!" Suddenly Dimitri came over and slapped me.

"That's enough! Obviously you don't realize how much I love you and until you do, I'm heading back to the school," He finally got up and left, slamming the door in the process. I sank onto the bed and sobbed. Darkness raged within me and before I realized it, I stormed out the door.

"Miss Hathaway!" Destruction followed me as a strange gust of dark wind blew through the hospital. "Miss Hathaway! Please, you have to stay!" I turned to the nurse.

"Silence!" I left the hospital on my own. If I didn't need Dimitri, I didn't need anyone and I was going to prove that. Using a little bit of darkness, I used just enough force to break the wristband around me, letting it drop to the ground. "If Dimitri thinks I'm dependent on him, well he's going to have another thing coming at him," I stormed off, heading in the direction away from the school. Then Dimitri's words rang in my head. _'You can't just give up your whole guardian career.'_ That made me stop and think for a minute. Then I shook my head. If he was going to find me, he'd have to do it himself. After leaving the hospital I just started walking to a nearby town. Hours after hours passed and soon it got dark outside. Then that was where I ran into my first problem. I didn't have any money with me so I didn't exactly have a place to stay. I looked back towards the direction of the hospital and then the direction in which I was walking in. Finally I decided to head into the woods. Even though it was dangerous, I rather stay in a forest than on the streets where God knows what could happen to me. I didn't even regain all my strength yet so it wasn't like I fight a Strigoi head on either. As I dashed into the forest, I found a tree with a hole and hid in there to rest. The traffic nearby worried me, not for the reason that Dimitri might come, but who else could possibly find me first. Dimitri was probably notified of my disappearance at this point and was probably looking for me this very moment. When it started to rain, I swore everyone in this world was out to get me whether I knew about it or not. The moon eventually came out and the fog kicked in which really made me nervous. I didn't even end up sleeping so I ended up dreaming. I could just imagine Dimitri's fury at me for leaving just like that. He probably had a team of guardians all out looking for me just like they did when Lissa and I got caught.

"Find her! She couldn't have gotten far!" I looked up suddenly. It was Dimitri's voice. And to be honest, at this point, hungry, freezing, and wet I did anything to find him. I focused all the energy I had left to let darkness out. Sparks started flying into the air. "Over here! She's over here!" I smiled. "Roza!" I looked up and Dimitri was standing in front of me. "Come on sweetheart. Come out of there," I looked at him and he bent down to pick me up. "Time to go home, my little runaway," He wasn't angry. He hugged me tight even. I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck and he kissed my neck. When I got back to the hospital, I kept having blurry visions. But after some shots and medication, I gasped and everything sharpened. "Hey…how are you feeling?" I turned and saw Dimitri brushing my hair aside.

"Her heart rate's fast. Calm her down," The nurse told Dimitri. Dimitri got into my bed and held me tenderly.

"Were you scared?" He asked me quietly.

"Yeah…" I was exhausted and Dimitri's warmth slowly lulled me to sleep.

"Get some rest. We'll talk in the morning," He kept brushing my hair and eventually, I fell asleep in his arms.

_Next day…_

When I woke up, I suddenly sat up. Dimitri was already awake, reading a book.

"Rose," He closed his book and put it aside. I looked at him, then looked away. "We need to talk," He pulled his chair up to my bed.

"I know what you're going to ask. You're going to ask why I ran off, didn't I?"

"So why did you?" He asked straightforwardly.

"Because…" I started.

"Because what?"

"Because I don't know. I just…felt left out. When you left, I thought you seriously chose Tasha over me. Then I was so determined to show myself that I was going to be okay without you. But…that didn't work. Then when you came, all I wanted was to be a little kid again. I didn't want to carry any more responsibility. I just want to be me. But even that's getting hard recently," I started to explain.

"Rose…you're still a child no matter how much you want to be an adult. It's one thing to try and be independent, but you're welcome to depend on me. You know you can, right?" I looked at him, then nodded.

"Look…Dimitri. I just want to go home. Not this home, not the school. I want to go home. Somewhere I'm safe and I don't have to run any longer. If Tasha wants you, she can take you. I don't care anymore. I just don't want to be like this," I started getting edgy.

"Shh…stay calm, sweetheart," I sighed. "I already talked to Tasha. I told her to leave and that she has no longer the right to approach me as long as you seem she is a threat to you. Rose, you never have to be scared around me. You don't have to be like this. Look, how about we go on a vacation, just the two of us. You name the place. Hawaii?" He asked. I looked at him. "We'll get away like you wanted. It'll be time for you to heal and recuperate. No more running, no more fighting," He repeated while starting to take his phone out. "Headmistress…yes, this is Guardian Belikov, I have Rose here with me in the nearby general hospital. Look, she's been through a lot for her age and she's going through some trauma issues. I figured I could take her on a vacation, just the two of us. Hawaii. Two weeks. Is that alright?" Then there was silence. "I understand. Thank you," Then he hung up. "Rose?" I looked at him again, tired as hell. "Are you okay?" My breathing became short and rapid. "Come on, lie down and take deep breaths," Dimitri helped me breathe. He held my hands above my head and I kept taking deep breaths. The heart monitor's beeping slowed. Dimitri put the oxygen mask on me. "Better?" I nodded and inhaled. Suddenly he looked like he was going to leave and I grabbed his sleeve.

"Don't…go…" He smiled.

"I'm just heading back to the school to pack some things for the two of us. Alright? The nurses here can watch over you," I shook my head.

"I'm going with you!" I was worried. Any moment he had with Tasha, something could go wrong and I was still not going to believe that Tasha backed off just like that.

"Rose..." I gave him a pleading look.

"I can't let you go alone…I'm coming with you. After you pack, we can come back here. But…" He gave me a gentle look.

"Alright. Let me just talk to the nurses," I started to get ready to leave for a bit. When Dimitri came back, he gave me the ok to leave. I followed him out to the car and he drove us back to the academy. And guess who was at the main gate? That's right, Tasha. When Tasha started coming at Dimitri, I got out of the car to let her know of my presence.

"Dimka, I missed you!" I snarled and she looked my way and backed off.

"Okay, you know what. Time I made it clear to you. No more nice girl here. Lady Ozera, Dimitri is mine and solely mine. You should know that well by now," I threatened her.

"Rose…back off, now," Dimitri scolded me. I hissed at her and Dimitri grabbed me by the collar. "Come on, no fighting," He told me.

"No, Dimka. Let her. It's time I said my part to her too. Look little missy, I've known Dimka a lot longer than you have. You can't just step in and take him away from me either," She sneered.

"Tasha, I don't love you," Dimitri spoke up. Tasha though, didn't even seem to notice.

"What did you do to him? Did you use your dark magic and compulsion to get him to love you? Did you cheat like the bitch you are?" Tasha pushed me back, but I didn't hit her back. I was touchy on my dark magic ever since my test.

"Tasha, that's enough!" Dimitri protected me. He quickly looked back at me and noticed the dark aura's return.

"You don't know what happened so don't act as if you do!" I screamed. Darkness triggered and I charged at her. I growled and hissed as I tackled her to the ground. Tasha kicked me back and shot a fireball at me. However, I dodged her attack too, though it singed my hair a bit. We ended up going head to head with each other, throwing spells. "Bahlskra!" Tasha quickly got trapped. "I'm ending this once and for all!" I clenched my fist and she screamed.

"Dimka!" She yelled for Dimitri and he went to her. I quickly let her go. When I tried to run though, I stumbled and fell onto my butt. Dimitri saw me wanting to escape and I did. I shot off and ran.

"Rose!" I ran. I ran from everything, I ran from myself, I wanted to disappear. "Rose, stop! Stop!" I kept running. "ROZA! Please!" I finally stopped.

"No more! I've had enough! I don't want this anymore!" I screamed. A burst of dark energy came from me violently as Dimitri shielded himself a bit.

"Roza…sweetheart!" Dimitri finally made his way through until he got to me. Putting his arms around me, I was shocking him with the darkness, but he didn't seem to care. "Roza…it's alright…It's alright…nothing to be afraid of. Take it easy…I'm here now. Nothing can hurt you," No matter how much I shocked him, he still held on tight to me. "I won't let you go, and I won't ever leave you Rose! Listen to me!" He yelled through the chaos.

"NO! I don't want to! I don't want to listen anymore!" I screamed as darkness kept spreading.

"Oh dear…Rose…" He could only watch as I released all my magic powers. I was sobbing. It was painful living like this, being a monster. I knew I had changed ever since the Spokane incident, but it was just too much. Dimitri brought me to my knees as he shielded me. "Let it out. If it makes you feel better, just release all the anger and pressure," I kept going and things around me started to be destroyed like trees and such. After what seemed to be an hour, I finally stopped. Regaining my sanity back, I was breathing rapidly, but so was Dimitri. He was bleeding in some areas from the darkness. But even at the very end, he was still brushing my hair as I cried. "I know it's hard. It's really been hard on you," My sobs eventually quieted to just hiccups. Some guardians ran over, amazed at the destruction.

"Did she do-" They started.

"Yeah," Dimitri cut them off.

"Wow…I wouldn't imagine. From a seventeen year old at that," Dimitri hugged me tight, trying to make me not hear what they were saying, afraid I would trigger off another hour of destruction.

"Can you guys leave? I mean, it's nice you guys care for her, but now is not the best time. Not in her condition right now," The guardians quickly left. "Rose, can you hear me?" I didn't move. "Rose, sweetheart?" I shifted just the slightest bit and Dimitri stroked my wet cheek. "Are you okay?" I shook my head. "Are you going to be okay?" I kept shaking my head. "Okay, then let's just stay like this until you catch your breath," I stayed quiet but now and then, you could hear the crackle of the sparks created by the darkness. As we stayed like that, Dimitri would kiss me now and then as well as check my heart rate. "Your heart rate is stabilizing. Can you move at all?" I moved my legs a bit, but only very little. "Can you feel them?" He asked.

"They're a bit numb from the darkness's shock," I tried to move my legs as they moved only slightly. Eventually, they moved more and I was able to curl up more. After another hour or so, I was able to fully move. But, being Dimitri, he picked me up for safety purposes.

"Let's get you back to the school," He slowly walked back to the school with me in his arms. "Get some rest sweetheart. Don't worry about packing. I'll take care of that," I nodded and bit and drifted off to sleep. "You must be tired. You must be past tired," That was the last thing I heard before falling asleep in Dimitri's arms.

_Next morning…_

"It's morning…" I looked out the window. Dimitri was gone. He left a note.

_ Roza, I went out to the hospital to get your stuff back. Be back soon. ~Dimitri_

I curled up and heard nothing, but silence. I needed Dimitri. I couldn't be without him. Right now he was my only shelter and I needed him. I quickly got dressed and slowly left the school, heading in the direction of the hospital. Right as I got to the entrance of the school, the giant gate that was locked, towered over. A spell came into mind.

"Break," I whispered and the lock broke off from the gate. I opened the gate and kept walking. When I walked half way, I took out my cell phone and called Dimitri.

"Rose? Is something wrong? I'll be back soon. Just wait for me at the school," He spoke quickly, as if he was in a rush.

"Dimitri?" I asked.

"Yes?" He asked back.

"I'm not at the school," I told him.

"YOU'RE WHAT? Where are you? I'm coming to get you!" He started panicking.

"I'm-" Too late. He hung up. Crap. I looked back. I could always just head back to the school. Eh, he'll eventually see me. As I walked leisurely, the fresh air was nice. It gave me time to think about some things. Everything seemed peaceful. That was, until it was ruined by a lone Strigoi.

"Oh poor girl. Is the little lamb lost?" He teased as he approached me.

"Don't mess with me," I hissed.

"Oh I see. Girl has fight in her still. Well, this will just be a quick death for you then," He ran quickly towards me in lightning speed.

"I reject!" I yelled. A burst of dark flame surrounded me, getting the Strigoi to stop. "You can mess with any other person, but do NOT mess with me!" I took him by the collar and whispered a spell. "Bahlskra!" In an instant, I crushed his bones. Once he was dead, I tossed him off to the side. Funny thing was, why was he by himself? Usually Strigoi are always out with a partner of some sort. I sighed, quickly calling Dimitri.

"Rose? Don't worry. I'm driving on my way back. Stay where you are," He yelled through the phone.

"Dimitri…hurry up. I think I'm kind of in the middle of a really bad thing. A freaking Strigoi just came after me…" I trailed off.

"What? Where are you? Do you see any landmarks?" He asked in a panicky voice now.

"There's a church and some cars in the parking lot that I just walked by. It's really quiet, Dimitri…and I'm just worried. Strigoi travel in pairs if not packs. If one just came after me…" I spoke quietly now.

"Listen to me. Rose, I'm not that far away. I'm just right up ahead of you. I'll probably see you within couple minutes top. Do you have your stake with you?" He asked.

"No. It's in my room," I told him.

"Rose, how did you leave without a stake?" He asked, a bit disappointed in me.

"It's fine. I can still use the darkness. I just killed one by using the 'Bahlskra' spell," I told him. I could hear him sigh.

"Try not to use your powers, but be alert. Keep walking towards the hospital. Don't run at all. They can tell when you're on edge. I'll see you in a bit," I heard his car speed up before he hung up. _'What the hell? What does he mean by don't run? I have killers here trying to kill me and he says don't run?'_ I kept walking, but to be honest, this just might turn into a bloodbath. "Please hurry…" I whispered to myself.

**Oo…cliffhanger! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I know it's a bit scattered, but that's only to show how many problems Rose is trying to juggle with! Either way, please review! I do spend effort on writing these chapters one by one, so some feedback or if you like it would be nice! THANKS!**


	5. Chapter 5: A Mysterious Danger

**So here's chapter 5! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any of the characters!**

**Chapter 5**

I started to walk slowly. Then my pace grew faster. Every second, every moment, my life felt like it was at stake if I didn't move faster. Dimitri distinctly told me not to run this time, but this was scary. I kept looking back every moment, making sure no one followed.

"Boo!" I turned and screamed. Towering over me was another Strigoi. Darkness turned into sparks around my body and before I knew it, something similar to a thunder shock came at the Strigoi, fending him off for a bit. My moves were a bit slow for some reason. I simply dodged his attacks and whenever he got too close, I let off another thunder shock. When he was behind me, I started to run. I couldn't wait anymore. There were more of them and I knew it.

"Not so fast!" Another one jumped in front of me, then behind me. There were two others. Just how many were there? I tried to escape, but the two Strigoi kept blocking me off. "You know, it wasn't nice of you to hurt our friend like that," I ignored the comment and looked for a way out. I concentrated my powers again to create another shock. Both of them jumped aside but were on my tail no longer than a split second. I kept running until finally I tripped. I screamed as I hit the concrete and the two Strigoi were simply having fun chasing me. "Time for you to die, little girl!" One teased.

"Dimitri!" I screamed as if hoping he could hear me.

"Get down!" I heard his voice and suddenly I heard two gunshots fired. I turned to see Dimitri holding the gun tightly around his hands. I turned to see the Strigoi as Dimitri kept firing until they collapsed. But what I saw then seriously scared me. Blood. It was everywhere. And not just that, one of the Strigoi was a kid. Well, not really a kid, but my age. I stayed where I was but when I looked at him, he was still moving, still alive. He gave me an angry growl.

"Come on. Let's go," Dimitri took my hand. But suddenly I did something irrational. I broke free from Dimitri and went to the guy. He was coughing up blood as I watch. He didn't look like Mason, but it gave me enough incentive to help him. When I touched him though, he scratched me. I flinched but looked at him. "Get away from him! He's dangerous!" Dimitri yelled.

"No, he's not! He's a kid Dimitri!" I yelled back. The Strigoi boy looked away.

"Just leave me here to die," He spoke quietly.

"Shut up," I warned him. "I'm not going to let you die. Your partner can die for all I care, but not you," I touched his wound and he hissed. Dimitri at this time, just watched. "Don't move," I warned him. Then, channeling the power that I had, I touched his wound and started healing it. "Heal," A glow showed over the wound and the wound started to seal.

"Rose…" Dimitri was worried. "You…" Tears formed but I wiped them away before they fell. When the glow started to flicker, I stopped to take a breath. Most of the bullets came out too. The guy still looked at me oddly.

"Why are you trying so hard to save me?" He finally had the strength to ask. I didn't answer him. "Answer me, girl!" He finally got the strength to get up.

"You will not talk to her like that after what she just did for you!" Dimitri roared. "If it wasn't for her action, you'd be dead," I stopped him.

"You want to know why? I'm not sure, but from the looks of it, you know about the Spokane incident," I started.

"Yes…my boss told us about it," He answered awkwardly.

"Well, you guys killed my friend. He was your age. I just don't see a reason for you to die this early. I'll kill you when you're 25 or so. But not when you're 18," I started to get up.

"Don't pity me, girl," He threatened me.

"Hey, I said not to talk to her like that. One more time and you'll wish you stayed dead," Dimitri defended me by blocking the guy's reach to me.

"I'm not pitying you," I replied back slowly. "You don't know how it feels like to die. I just don't need another person to go through it," I explained to him simply.

"You've died before?" He asked in a nicer manner now. I didn't answer him.

"That's none of your concern," Dimitri answered for me.

"I wasn't asking you," The guy answered in an arrogant manner. Dimitri suddenly punched the guy, sending him flying quite a ways.

"That's enough!" I yelled, stopping the guy from slamming into a tree. "Look, I gave you your life back. I think that's enough," I started to walk off with Dimitri in tow.

"Wait! What's your name, girl?" He demanded.

"That's enough!" Dimitri finally roared at him again.

"Rose," Dimitri turned to me suddenly.

"Rose, you shouldn't be-" He started.

"I'm taking a leap of faith. My name is Rose. Rose Hathaway. Now is there anything else?" I asked warily.

"No…thank you," He spoke awkwardly, then even bowed.

"Okay…bye," I left quickly with Dimitri.

"What the hell just happened?" I shuddered.

"I don't know. But you really should know that severe consequences can come from what just happened," Dimitri warned me.

"Yeah…I know. Let's pray nothing happens," Dimitri led me back to the car and I got in. On the ride back to the school, I just stayed quiet thinking about what happened. Why did I even tell his name? And leap of faith? The kid was a Strigoi. But that was probably what it was. He was simply a kid. Maybe one year older than I was at most. Did I seriously hope he was going to come back or something? For all I knew, he could be reporting to his boss for all I know.

"Rose? Rose? We're here. Hey, did you hear me? Rose!" Suddenly I saw Dimitri's face in front of me.

"Woah! Yeah…I'm fine," I answered out of nowhere.

"I wasn't asking if you were fine, but now that we're on the subject, what's up?" He asked, concerned.

"Nothing. I just feel really bad right now. Like physically," Something churned in my stomach and I knew I was nauseous. I bent over to catch my breath as Dimitri rubbed my back. Suddenly, I saw a vision as it shot me into somewhere else, kind of like when I entered Lissa's mind. I followed in my head where the vision took me. I saw a dark mansion, decently close to the school. As the vision kept moving, I stood up. "Dimitri…"

"What? What is it?" He was worried. I saw the same Strigoi kid being beat up by his boss. It just was just like seeing Mason being beat up.

"I have to go…I have to get to him!" I started to rush as fast as I could.

"ROSE!" Dimitri followed me. "What's going on?" He asked while running with me.

"That kid, Dimitri. He's going to be killed in minutes! I saw it!" I pushed my legs farther. Why was I so determined to save him? What made him special? I kept going at it. I had to reach him. I had to save him. Finally, when I ran up to the mansion, Dimitri yanked me back.

"What are you doing? You're walking into what's probably a trap!" He whispered loudly.

"Get off of me! I have to save him! I have to!" I screamed. A burst of dark energy released me from Dimitri's grasp. Strigoi surrounded me, but I had an idea.

"Bahlskra!" All of them were trapped and within one clench from my hand, all of their bones snapped and their necks, killing them instantly. Dimitri ran in with me, watching my back as I rushed recklessly into what probably was a death trap. When I finally saw the boy crumpled on the ground, panting and hurt, I saw his boss.

"So I was right. She now has a connection to you. Well, I guess hitting you around did some good after your miserable failure," He spat at the kid. "But now, I don't need you," He grabbed the kid's head.

"Signum!" I yanked the boy's body away from him and sent him to my side.

"You dare interfere, little girl?" He snarled.

"Bahlskra!" I commanded. My dark aura surrounded him in a tight grasp, but he simply laughed. "What's so funny?" I demanded.

"What's so funny? The fact you think you can beat me with such a weak spell!" He taunted. "Reject! Spell Error!" He quickly broke himself out from my spell. What the hell was he? Who the hell was he?

"You still have a lot to learn, brat! Skalz!" I saw what seemed to be his shadow move and grab me. "Pain!" The shadow seemed to bind my neck quickly.

"Rose!" Dimitri ran towards him with a stake.

"Protect!" He commanded. A shield came up and Dimitri got pushed back.

"Let go of her, you bastard!" Dimitri yelled.

"Release!" Another voice was heard and the shadow dispersed immediately. I dropped to the floor, gasping for air as Dimitri helped me. "I warned you not to touch her," The voice seemed angry. Finally, a man walked out.

"Zmey, what a nice surprise," The Strigoi smirked.

"Zmey?" Dimitri seemed shocked.

"Belikova, Dimitri, if I'm not mistaken, is that right?" Dimitri seemed wary. While moving slowly back to me, Zmey, or whoever he was walked up to the Strigoi.

"What did I tell you about touching her?" He threw the Strigoi into a wall pretty hard. As Dimitri helped me up, we both went to check on the wounded boy.

"Dimitri, get both her and the boy out of here," Zmey shouted. I was confused, but Dimitri picked both me and the boy up, carrying us out of the mansion.

"Wait! What are they doing? Dimitri!" I yelled.

"Rose, put it this way. If Zmey is involved in this, then you're not exactly safe anymore. He's not a person you want to know," I stopped asking at that point. Dimitri's face was serious meaning something was terribly wrong. What was it? I didn't know. But I figured this wasn't the time to ask. When we got back, Dimitri quickly sent the kid to the infirmary and then reported to Headmistress Kirova about the situation. Dimitri left me in his room, giving me some ointment that helped the bruises that formed on my neck. Whatever power that Strigoi man had, it did a toll on me since my neck looked like there was a giant claw mark there. When I was done treating the wound, I sat there and waited quietly. What was going on? Just as I started thinking, Dimitri came in.

"What happened?" I asked him. He had a distraught face.

"Rose…I'm sorry, but we'll have to delay the vacation," I gave him a weird look.

"But…" He gave me a sad look.

"Rose…now's not the time. Get packing. We're going to Siberia," He spoke seriously.

"What? Why? What's going on?" I demanded now. I wasn't just going to leave everyone here. "What about Lissa and the others? I can't just leave them, Dimitri! They're my friends," I yelled.

"I know that!" He yelled back. I could see the stress from him clear as day. "But right now, they're in a better position than you are. I have to get you out of here and I mean it. Pack your stuff. I'll see you in a couple of hours. Call me if anything comes up," He literally kicked me out the room, hurrying me out. I did as told and went to pack stuff up. I started to text Lissa too about the situation.

_Rose, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Christian's here too. Let me know when you're in Siberia._

When I was still packing, Dimitri apparently used his master key to get in.

"What? Couldn't even knock?" I spoke rudely. Dimitri looked away.

"I apologize for barging in," He told me.

"Why are you being so polite?" I asked him warily.

"Sorry. I'm just stressed is all. Are you done packing?" I stopped packing.

"Dimitri, what's going on? I want to know," I looked at him, pissed off.

"Rose…I'll explain when we get to Siberia. But I can't tell you. If I do, you'll be insistent on staying and I can't have you do that," I finally packed everything up.

"I told Lissa," I spoke quietly.

"You-" I cut him off.

"Enough! I'm already packing apparently so there's no reason to keep barking. I don't know why I'm leaving, I don't know what I'm doing, and you're so on edge that you can't read my feelings anymore!" I shouted. It seemed to shock him. "You used to know what I was thinking twenty-four hours a day. This isn't like you," I touched his face.

"I know," That was all it took for his guardian mask to come down. "Rose…you're really in a complicated situation and Zmey, that man you met there, apparently stopped by here, giving specific instructions to follow. He went to Headmistress Kirova and requested that you study abroad there," He told me.

"Study abroad? So that's it? The reason you're so edgy is because this is the end?" I asked in a dangerous voice.

"No, sweetheart. No. I'm coming with you. There are other reasons that I can't tell you. But just know that I will always be with you, alright? No matter what," He hugged me. I just nodded a bit and started packing again. When I was done, Dimitri quickly got the private jet. As Dimitri and I headed to the car that was set up for us, Lissa and the others were waiting there.

"Lissa…" She quickly hugged me.

"Rose, I'll miss you," I hugged her back. "Don't forget to call," I nodded. Everyone else finally joined in a group hug. I started to cry. When I stopped, I wiped my tears. "Here," Lissa gave me a stack of small pieces of paper.

"What is it?" I asked. "They're spells infused into paper. These are the ones with Christian's fire power. See? They're red. The blue ones are Mia's and the pink ones are mine. If these are thrown onto anything, they react," She explained.

"Rose!" Dimitri called. Lissa gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and left with everyone. The last few tears fell as I finally turned, leaving the school with Dimitri. When I got into the car, there was a driver. I just turned away, crying silently. "When we get to the airport, I'll give you your passport and we will just bring the carry-on items. Do you want any dinner or…" He finally trailed off and stopped.

"Rose…" I sniffed finally and he instantly knew. "Rose, I know you don't want to leave and I know it's painful to leave, but this is for the best," He spoke quietly. I turned to him, pissed off.

"Whose best? The school's best? Or mine? Because I can't seem to tell!" I yelled. The driver heard us, but still kept driving. But the thing was, he didn't answer.

"Rose, I know you're confused and scared and disappointed as well as angry, but there's a lot I can't tell you until I find out all the details," He tried to explain. He tried to reach my hand and I hit his hand back without saying anything. "Just don't hate me…that's all I ask," He told me. I looked at him, but then he never looked back. Somehow, the darkness that was bubbling eventually calmed for some reason, and all that was left was sadness and loneliness.

"Guardian Belikov, we're here," Dimitri just got out and got our stuff. I stayed in the car unmoving.

"Rose, please don't make this harder than it should be," I reluctantly got out and the car drove off, leaving us at the drop off zone still. "Come on, let's go. We'll be late," I took my stuff as we headed inside. We got checked in and headed for the jet that was already there. When we got onto the jet, there were two dhampir ladies who were our flight attendants. I sat on the opposite side of the plane, away from Dimitri. He had a sad expression on his face, but I was willing to bet that I was the one that felt a lot worse. During the plane ride, Dimitri didn't make the effort to come to me. He could tell I was really unhappy and I could tell he hated me being in this state. Even when the flight attendants asked us what we wanted to eat, I didn't order. I didn't want to eat. Dimitri ended up ordering for me and brought the food to me.

"Eat something?" He asked. I turned away.

"Not hungry," I mumbled. He didn't answer and just left me alone. The flight was just plain out boring. I didn't have the energy to do anything but sit there, still trying to find the missing puzzle pieces to this whole situation. When the plane's lights dimmed for us to go to sleep, I got my bed ready and just laid down to rest. I waited hour by hour until I heard Dimitri's breathing. Tears trickled down as I started to cry now. I was sniffing and just letting everything out. I figured it was okay since Dimitri was asleep anyways. He wouldn't be able to hear me. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I quickly turned and saw Dimitri sitting next to me. I turned away from him and he just stroked my shoulder.

"I know what I have to say doesn't matter to you at this point. If there's anyone for you to be angry with, it's me," He spoke quietly. "For now, all I can tell you is that we're going to my hometown. The one I told you about, Baia," I didn't answer.

"Do you trust me?" I finally managed to ask.

"What?" He seemed confused.

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

"Of course I do. Is that what this is all about? Trust? You think I don't trust you?" He asked.

"I don't know," I answered quietly.

"You don't know what? You don't know if I trust you? You don't know what's going on?" He asked one by one.

"I don't know!" I finally turned and yelled at him. "I don't know anymore!" He quickly hugged me.

"Relax…it's going to be okay. Just take a deep breath first," I did as told and calmed down quickly.

"I don't know if you trust me…" I told him.

"Rose, of course I trust you. I have all my faith in you. It's just that things are complicated right now and I rather tell you facts than assumptions. Look, go to sleep. We can talk when we arrive there at midnight," He didn't continue explaining and went back to his seat. When I looked at him, he simply read his western novels again. But after an hour of watching him continuously, I found a problem. He hadn't continued reading at all. He was flipping the pages back and forth. Even he was distraught. Tired as hell, eventually I just turned my back to him and slept.

**Well now, mystery to solve! Wonder what Abe has to with all of this? Find out as you keep reading! Please review! Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6: I Hate It Here!

**So this is chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any of the characters!**

**Chapter 6**

_In Baia…_

"Come on. The car's waiting," Dimitri called after me. We had just arrived and I was still in a crappy mood. Dimitri literally had to drag me through the entire process which he wasn't too thrilled about. "Look, I know you don't want to be in this situation and that you never asked to come like this, but you're going to meet my family. Could you at least smile a bit?" I totally ignored him. I hated this. He called his mother apparently while in the car, telling her in English that we were on our way. "Please don't force me to make you behave. Rose, you're not like this," He whispered to me. Ever since the plane ride, I didn't say a word to him. Instead, I shielded myself away from him. "Rose," When his hand reached over, I told him to stay away.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled. He flinched. "Please…just don't touch me…" Darkness raged inside me. The insecurities that laid within this new environment scared me. Hell, what was going on, scared me. The car ride wasn't long, and within half an hour, we arrived in his town, Baia. I didn't want to look outside at all. I didn't want to recognize the fact that I was away from everyone else, that I was being treated like a threat. When we finally arrived to his house, the driver helped us out with our luggage.

"We're here…Rose…" His voice was weary. He was as tired as I was and my behavior just made it more of a problem. I got out unwillingly. Every moment I spent walking, felt heavy as we approached the door. I stayed behind Dimitri as he rang the doorbell. As the door creaked open slowly, a girl my age ran out and hugged Dimitri. Startled, I took a few steps back. Dimitri noticed my expression and pushed the girl off. My heart rate was beating quickly.

"Brother…" The girl whispered.

"Viktoria, not now," Dimitri came to me and felt my body. "You're shaking…Viki, get mama!" The girl dashed in. I heard a clattering sound and an older lady ran out. She was beautiful. I flinched, but Dimitri held me tight. "Rose…just stay calm," I shook my head, trying to get out of his grasp.

"Let go…Let go!" I begged. I tore away as darkness created an aura around me.

"Rose, it's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of. They won't hurt you. They're family," He explained calmly. He hugged me as he felt the aura expand.

"Strigoi…there are Strigoi…" Dimitri looked at me weirdly. When he looked around, they started to come out from alleys near the house.

"Protect!" I screamed. The dark aura expanded until the Strigoi couldn't get past. "Get them back inside!" Dimitri helped his mom back in as I kept the shield up. "Rose!" The shield started to fade as the diameter expanded too far and my body couldn't supply enough energy. Dimitri tried to get my attention.

"Rose, it's over. They're gone," The shield stayed up. "Rose…" My eyes became lifeless as my body kept up with the shield. "Rose…enough…" He begged. The shield eventually stopped and I stumbled a bit. "You're okay. You're okay…" He hugged me. I didn't answer. "Rose?" He touched my forehead. "You're warm…you have a fever…" I nodded. "Your power's sparking too," Little shocks went through my body, all from my powers. When I got inside, Dimitri laid me down on the couch as Dimitri's mother came to help out, wiping the sweat from my forehead. "Rose, your power's overwhelming. Let it out into me. I can take it," Dimitri told me. I looked at him and shook my head a bit. "It's alright. I'm strong. I can take it," He held my hand tight. "Just let it out…I'll be fine," He reassured me with his smile. My eyes started to close. "No! Rose, stay awake. Just shock me with as much as you need!" He started to yell. I started to let darkness go wild as the shocks went through Dimitri's body. After ten minutes or so, the shocks stopped, and Dimitri collapsed onto one knee. I looked at him weakly.

"Mama…towel," His mother placed the towel on my forehead and I relaxed. "She's really stressed…" Dimitri brushed my hair aside and kissed me.

"Dimka…she's…" I watched them talk.

"You see it too now, right?" He spoke. "I realized it on the plane ride," He added.

"What…?" I mumbled as Dimitri smiled and kissed me.

"She's Zmey's," She gasped.

"Yes. Rose is Zmey's daughter," Dimitri spoke. I sat up and looked at him.

"Wait, he's my father?" I exclaimed.

"Yes, he is. And he's coming in a bit to explain everything," Dimitri finally answered me.

"Didn't you say he was not someone to get involved with?" I asked.

"He is. He's a dangerous man. But what intrigues me is that he's your father meaning, you're unwillingly bound into his mess for some reason," I groaned.

"Just take it easy. Your fever's gone, but you need to recover," Dimitri laid me down on the couch. Just then, the doorbell rang and Dimitri opened it.

"Zmey…" The man rushed to me, but when he tried to touch me, I scratched him. "Roza!"

"It's alright…" The man spoke. "If I still remember something from when she was young it was this," He reached for me again and I hissed at him. Suddenly he touched my ear and just rubbed it a bit. My body for some reason relaxed.

"Papa…" I mumbled.

"It's me, kiz. It's me," I started to remember the past. I remembered this man and he was my father. He gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Now, as for explaining what's going on. Dimitri, I have to explain this solely to you. I'm sorry kiz, but this isn't something you should hear about. Not until you're older," He told me. Dimitri looked at me, but I didn't give up.

"Tell me. If it's about me, tell me. Stop beating around the bush," I told him. He sighed.

"Sigh…fine. This takes place back when Rose was just born. Being a mafia leader so to speak, wasn't easy. I had to keep everyone safe and a distance away from my job. Janine, Rose's mother, couldn't fight at the time. Rose was still too little and well, after childbirth, a mother is a mother. It's a hard job. So, I had to come up with a plan. I talked with my workers and we created a new power. That's the power that Rose carries now. It simply activates whenever she feels threatened or in danger. Janine hated me with a passion. She said that I took my own child and turned her into a dangerous weapon. It was simply planned that Rose was only to be used should any of my enemies threaten them. Rose's power never activated though. She was never threatened. But Janine still ran off with Rose. She eventually came to the conclusion that I had become the threat to the family and removed her and Rose from me. By that time, that was when Janine enrolled Rose into the St. Vladmir's Academy. Janine called me one last time. She said that Rose would go to school to rely on her own powers. Not on the ones I injected her with. But recently, one of my workers had a disagreement with me. He said that being a Strigoi meant having power. But he wanted to be the best and the only way was to have a weapon so powerful, no one could stop. He injected himself with the same substance. He was the Strigoi you guys met before. That boy you met was his son. The one you saved. He had planned to use his son for the same reason as Rose. To turn him into a weapon too so to speak, but he needed to see how developed Rose was. And well, after that demonstration, he knew that Rose could grow so much more with it. But after you saved his kid from being killed, he was deemed weak. Meaning, you're the one he's after. You're the only one that has this power that I gave you and he wants it," I stood up, glaring at my father while tears stung my eyes.

"You…You used me as a guinea pig!" I screamed at him. I started to cry. My dad simply looked away, but Dimitri was glaring too.

"You took every chance I had to become normal! Did you ever figure that all, father?" I kept going at it. My power surged within me. I wanted to kill him. He started this. I clenched my fist, ready to throw a punch. But Dimitri stopped me.

"He's not worth it," My father knew what he did but he did it anyways. Dimitri hugged me as if to protect me from all that I heard. "So, Zmey, because of your little experiment, how long do we stay here?" My father sighed.

"I don't know. It's become a chase for him and his chases go to death meaning it's kill or be killed, capture or be captured," I widened my eyes. That meant my chance of going home had been shot down. When I headed towards the door, Dimitri stopped me.

"No more running," He told me.

"Let go!" I pushed him back. He looked at me, surprised at my behavior. "I hate this place! I want to go home!" I yelled. I ran out of the house and into the street. The environment in that house had become constricting. My chest tightened at the thought of being here for a long time. I had friends to get back to. When running, I finally found a playground and a structure that was big enough to hide one person beneath it. I crawled in and just stayed there. As hours passed, only the sound of cars could be heard. It was well past midnight too. This was just a lot to take in. Is that why my mother never talked about my dad?

"Rose? Where are you? Rose!" It was Dimitri.

"We have to find her. It's not safe at night here," I heard my father's voice. "She couldn't have gotten far, Belikov," My dad continued.

"I beg to differ. Rose ran from the school for two years. Until I came along, no one could capture her. She went to Oregon. She'll have a harder time escaping here due to the language barrier, but she'll be farther than you think," I shifted a bit to make myself more comfortable. "Or not…" I heard Dimitri's whisper. "Rose, I know you're here. Come out already!" I came out, but they couldn't see me just yet which gave me time to continue fleeing. I started to walk in the opposite direction of where their voices came from. I quickly climbed up a tree in hid myself in the darkness of the night and the shadows of the leaves in the tree. I watched them look around. "Look, her footprints. She was just here," Dimitri pointed out, still looking. My dark aura reacted to their presence and the wind picked up.

"She's definitely here, Belikov. I can hear her," My father spoke.

"Hear her?" Dimitri asked.

"The wind. The wind's howling. It's from her powers. It's saying to leave at once," Dimitri stepped right underneath me, still looking. I moved closer to the main part of the tree, but the wood started to crack. Dimitri suddenly looked up. For a minute, I thought he couldn't see me, that I was well blended.

"Rose, come down from there!" He yelled. I flinched. I jumped through trees and Dimitri followed dead on. Finally I kept running until there was a lake. When I jumped down from the trees, Dimitri cornered me. "Rose, you don't have to run! There's no one here to hurt you. What are you scared of?" He asked. "You don't have anywhere to go anymore. Just come back home already!"

"That's not my home!" I yelled. I stepped back, onto the ice.

"Rose, do not move! That's an order!" I stepped back again.

"I am your father and I demand that you stop this right now!" My dad yelled.

"No!" I screamed. "You may have created me, but you were never my father," I shocked him with my power. He groaned and took a few steps back after being hit. "Fathers are kind! Fathers protect you! Fathers raise you! I was protected by the Dimitri! I was raised by my friends! They are my family. This is my home! And you are not welcome here!" I shocked him full blast. The ice cracked beneath me.

"Rose! You're getting out of control!" I screamed as darkness started to destroy trees and crack the ice. The darkness kept me from falling. As I poured more energy out, the trees started to crack and catch on fire. When I was about to send one more shock, Dimitri stepped up and protected him.

"Why are you protecting him?" I yelled.

"Because he's your father. My father never did what you mentioned either, but he hurt my family. Your father's been trying to protect you, to protect your mother. He doesn't deserve this!" He yelled through the chaos.

"What do you know about what he deserves?" I argued back.

"I know you're hurt and I know you're scared. But you don't have to be. I'm right here. You said that I protected you and I still will. So stop this nonsense already. Please!" He yelled. The gust of wind stopped. "Rose, come back to me. I'm right here," I looked at him while he was pleading. I saw Zmey there and I had the urge to strike again. "Look at me. Pretend he's not there, love," He whispered.

"Love? Belikov, you love her," Dimitri looked at me.

"Rose, listen to me. You have to focus. Focus on the sound of my voice. Can you hear me?" I headed towards Dimitri. "That's a good girl," He touched my waist and I pushed back. "It's alright. I'm not going to do anything unwanted. Just let me touch you for a bit. It'll calm you," He put his hands at my waist and I gasped. Slowly, but surely, he wrapped his arms around me, pressing me against him. "Rose, just relax," The dark aura slowly faded and I slumped against him, gasping. "There you go. Good girl," He picked me up quickly and all the energy drained quickly. "Let's get you home," My father came along as I was weak in Dimitri's arms. When we got back, Dimitri instantly tucked me into bed, staying by my side in the darkness.

"Rose, are you okay?" He asked quietly. My breathing leveled out and I just stared at him. "Rose?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Why don't you go talk to your sister? She misses you a lot. I just need to get some rest. That's all," I told him.

"Are you going to be okay on your own?" He asked.

"Yeah," Just when I said it, he stood up and headed to the door. "But, Dimitri," I said in a harsh voice. It was enough to stop him at the door.

"I hate it here. I want to go home," Dimitri gave me a sad look.

"I know sweetheart. I know. I didn't want to show you Siberia in this state. I wanted to show you this place when no one was going to get in the way, but right now, we don't have much of a choice," He came back to give me a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving to catch up with his family.

**Well now. The two are now stuck in the meantime. For those wondering why Tasha wasn't in the story for the last few chapters, it is because she is scheming something back in the U.S. Her appearance won't be gone long, but until then, stay tuned! Please review! I highly emphasize this as I don't know who really is enjoying it. I've had two main reviewers but a LOT of faves and etc. So people who have added this as a favorite story, can you review? Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7: Forgive and Forget? Never

**So here's chapter 7!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the VA characters or the plot…**

**Chapter 7**

_Next morning…_

As I started to walk down the stairs, I saw my dad sit at the dining table, looking firmly at me. I glared at him and then ignored him.

"Don't give me that attitude in the morning, Rose," He warned me. I glared at him.

"I can give you whatever attitude I want because you deserve it all," I spat at him, venom clearly in my voice.

"I won't let you date him, Rose. He's your mentor," He finally spoke up.

"So is this what this was all about?" I asked him back.

"Rose, he's twenty four! You're what? Seventeen?" He argued. I scoffed at his remark.

"Seventeen. Nice of you to actually keep track," I poured myself some coffee.

"You're seventeen. It's wrong for you to be with him!" My father raised his voice. "It's illegal!" He kept going.

"Illegal…are you really one to talk? You're a mafia boss to speak, aren't you?" I growled. He was starting to get on my nerves. "Also, I never asked for your opinion," I added.

"Oh? Then what about your mom? What about Janine? Does she know about this?" He exclaimed.

"You tell mom and I will rip you apart, right here, right now. You may be my father, but you do not, whatsoever, have the power to tell me what I can and cannot do!" I felt the dark power surging again.

"What's going on down there?" Olena came downstairs and saw the two of us. "Dimka!" Dimitri rushed out and saw the two of us.

"I can tell you what to do because I'm your father. I'm sure your mother has the power too, so don't start," My father kept arguing back.

"Mother…she hasn't been around! She doesn't care about me! She never came to visit! Not once. After I ran from the school, I swear she hates me more than any other person on this earth," I hissed.

"You…ran?" I looked away.

"I ran. I ran for two years with Lissa. Dimitri found us eventually," Dimitri stood still, high on his guard, but still giving us distance.

"I hated the place. It was destroying Lissa, but I protected her. Then when I got back, I regained a family with my friends. I started to like the place. I fell in love with Dimitri. Maybe that wasn't right, but it was through my decisions because he protected me! He kept me safe! But because of this now…I don't have that comfort anymore. You took me away from my family!" Out of pure hatred and fury, I spilled my coffee on him. He was stunned.

"ROSE!" Dimitri suddenly restrained me, but darkness pushed him back. I went up to my father, looking him dead straight in his eyes while he was still shocked.

"This is your daughter, Zmey. You did this. So don't tell me that I'm wrong," I stormed out of the kitchen and back into my room. I started to pack my stuff. Then when I stopped, I heard them talking downstairs.

"Zmey…"

"It's alright, Belikov. She's right. I deserved that," I started to cry from upstairs as I started to pack again. When I grabbed all the stuff, I headed out my room.

"Where are you going?" Dimitri saw me.

"Home. I'm going home!" He saw the tears streaming down my face.

"Rose!" He started to run towards me.

"Bahlskra!" I screamed. Dimitri was stuck in the darkness's grasp. I just sobbed in front of him. "I…I can't…I can't do this anymore. I rather be captured and tortured than go through this. I've had enough!" I ran out the door. Right when I stepped out though, the Strigoi boy from before was standing there. But when I looked into his eyes, they weren't red.

"Hi, Rose," He smiled.

"You…" I tried to talk.

"Yeah, it's me. I got changed back," He suddenly had a confused glance. "You're crying. What's wrong?" I shook my head. He slowly came towards me, but I backed away. "It's alright. I won't hurt you. I promise," He told me quietly. Before I knew it, he had pulled me into a hug. "Shh…no reason to cry..." Dimitri suddenly came out.

"You! What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"I escaped from that school. I came here because Princess Vasilisa led me here. She gave me a mission too," I looked at the boy.

"What mission?" Dimitri asked warily.

"To bring Rose back. Apparently Lissa jumped into her mind the last time around," He explained.

"She's not allowed to go back," My dad came out now. "Not with your father hunting her down," He added in a firm manner.

"Not your decision, sir," The boy retorted. "Rose? Do you want to go home?"

"I want to go home," I sniffed after I had stopped crying.

"Rose! You can't go back! You know what'll happen!" Dimitri yelled at me. "Is it really better to be captured and tortured than stay here? Think about it!" He was trying to hit a nerve somewhere. He was hoping I wasn't thinking correctly. I pushed the boy away.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"Ryan," He stated.

"Ryan, he's right. I can't leave. Your dad's waiting for me back there and until it's safe, I have to stay here," He suddenly had his hand on my forehead. I blinked and he smiled a bit.

"You're easy to read," He stated.

"Read?" He pointed to his mind.

"I have your same power. It's easy for me to connect to your powers like that," He smiled. "Guess I'll head back then. Want to leave a message for Lissa?" My mood brightened and I started to smile a bit.

"Yeah. Tell her that I'm alright. Everything's fine now. Thanks," He smiled. "How did you get here anyways?" I asked.

"Magic. Watch," He stated.

"Portal, open!" A hole just opened out of nowhere. "St. Vladmir's Academy!" There was an image of the school. "I have to head back now. I'll see you around," He jumped into the portal and then the hole closed up and disappeared.

"Rose…" I clenched my fist. I had lost my chance to go home. But I did what was right…didn't I? I threw my stuff back at Dimitri. He caught it and gave it to my dad. "Rose…are you okay?" I didn't look at him. I didn't look at Dimitri. I didn't want to see his sad face. The face I had created.

"I'm going for a walk," I whispered before turning and running. I kept running and running until I ended up in the lake. When I put my feet into the water, a gust of wind blew at my face. My hair was blown by the wind too. I sat by the water and just started to think.

"Can I sit here?" I looked up and Dimitri gave me a smile.

"Do what you want," I mumbled, getting up and starting to leave.

"That was really brave of you. You turned down the chance to run," He suddenly spoke up. I stopped walking, back facing towards him.

"It's not like I wanted to. It's not like I could go anywhere, either," I started to talk to him.

"Tell me something. Did you do it because you knew I would be angry at you? Or the fact I would hunt you down?" He said with a straight face. I didn't answer. "Answer me, Rose. Why didn't you run?" He demanded now.

"I didn't run…because…" My voice trailed.

"I can't hear you," He said. What was he getting at?"

"I didn't run because I knew you would come after me, just like you did back at Portland," I growled at him.

"I see. Then what's keeping you here?" He asked.

"Isn't that the same question?" I asked back.

"Not from my point of view," He stated.

"What's keeping me here? Nothing," I straight out told him.

"Really. Then run. Run away and never come back," He suddenly told me. Without a doubt, I sprinted off. When I looked at him, his back was still facing towards me. But nonetheless, I wanted to get out of here, I wanted to go home. As I ran through the forest, I ended up stopping. Something felt wrong. This was wrong. I shouldn't be running. But he was letting me go, right? I turned around and started to head back. However, right as I turned though, there he was, standing there, watching me. "Couldn't do it, could you?" He asked me. I looked away. When I looked at him though, he had a straight face on. Tears streamed down my face.

"DAMN IT!" I hit my fist into a tree. He slowly came to me and just gave me a hug.

"Shh…it's alright…" I cried into his chest. "It's going to be okay…" I bit his neck lightly. Not enough to puncture and draw blood, but enough to make Dimitri gasp a bit. "Does your hand hurt?" When I saw my hand, it was dripping with blood. "Come on, let's get you back. You have school tomorrow and you can't be injured already," He walked me back to the house. "Sit on the chair over there. I'll get the first aid kit. Mama?" He called out as he went upstairs. I gritted my teeth as the wound stung. Dimitri quickly came downstairs and sat next to me. "From the looks of your wound, you're lucky you didn't get any splinters. It just seems to be multiple cuts," He started to treat the wound. Making sure everything was done gently, I started to talk.

"I have school tomorrow?" He looked up at me.

"Of course. We can't have you fall behind. You're going to attend St. Basil's Academy. It's like St. Vladmir's, just nearby here instead. And don't worry, I'll be there too. I'm teaching combat so you'll be in my class," I nodded.

"Am I taking anything else?" He shook his head.

"Every course besides combat is in Russian. I contacted Headmistress Kirova and she said that you knew enough to waive out of it. Plus, because you never took Russian, you can't really understand the teachers there too," I nodded. "There," I looked at my wound and it was bandaged up nicely.

"Thanks…"

"Go wash up. I want to introduce you to my grandmother," I headed upstairs and saw my dad at the top of the stairs. I just walked by him and headed to the bathroom. After getting ready, I walked back downstairs and there was a little old lady, staring at me. But the way she stared, she knew something.

"Dimka…she's different. She's a child of death," I cringed.

"Yes, she's shadow-kissed if that's what you mean," The old lady nodded.

"Child of the snake too," She spoke to me.

"Zmey is her father," He nodded.

"Look, am I here to be introduced or insulted?" I asked Dimitri.

"Babushka, be nice," Dimitri told her. "Look, she's Ro-"

"Roza Hathaway. I already know. Dear, it would be wise for you to be careful tomorrow," Dimitri's grandmother told me.

"What?" Suddenly, she just left.

"Sigh…my grandmother's weird like that. Just ignore her comments a bit." Dimitri gave me a kiss on my forehead. "How about we go out on a date?" He suddenly asked. I nodded before I realized it.

"Come on. We can go to the marketplace," He took my hand and I cringed. "Sorry," He walked to my other side and grabbed my uninjured hand instead. When we headed to the marketplace, for once, it was fun. We went through stands and bought fruit as well as some snacks like peeled roasted chestnuts. After buying some snacks, we sat next to a fountain.

"Open your mouth," He told me. I opened my mouth and he popped a chestnut in my mouth. "Is it good?" I nodded. He also ate one too. "God I haven't had these since I was little," He laughed. I leaned against him and gave a light giggle. "Want another one?" I opened my mouth and he popped another one in. As time passed we bought other snacks here and there and just had fun, something I hadn't done in a while. After eating, we started heading to parks where we played kiddie games like hide-and-seek. Before we knew it, it got dark outside so we headed back.

"I totally beat you in hide-and-seek!" I mocked Dimitri.

"Hey! I'm tall! Where do you want me to hide? In a tree hole?" He pushed me a bit. I pushed him back.

"I'd like to see you try," When we got back inside, Dimitri told me to go to bed while he was getting plans ready for tomorrow.

"Rose, before you go to bed, I do have to warn you, try to play nice with the kids. Let me know if things scare you or aggravate you. I don't need kids getting injured, alright?" I looked at him and nodded. "And if your powers spark, just let them out on me. I'm stronger than you so I can take it," My eyes slowly closed and he smiled.

"Get some rest," I finally fell asleep, happy, but tired from the date.

**Eh…I know the later half of the chapter was rushed, but this really isn't the best chapter. I just need to get to the school day chapter and things will get better from there. So, review! What did you guys think of the first half of the chapter? Will Rose ever forgive her father?**


	8. Chapter 8: Truth Be Told!

**Sorry for not posting in a long time! Here's chapter 8!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any of the characters!**

**Chapter 8**

_Next day…_

"Vikki, Rose, time for school!" Dimitri called from downstairs. I quickly came downstairs, a backpack filled with combat gear. A bit tired still, I stumbled down the stairs. "Careful, sweetheart!" He caught me just as I slammed into the side of the stairs. "Tired?" I mumbled something incoherent. "Maybe some food will do you some good," He nudged me towards the dining room where he sat me down and gave me a plate of bacon, eggs, pancakes and sausages. I slowly ate and eventually, I didn't finish it. Vikki looked at me oddly.

"Brother, didn't you say that she eats a lot?" Vikki asked Dimitri.

"Yeah…Rose, are you feeling alright?" Dimitri asked.

"Yeah…I'm just tired," Dimitri touched my forehead.

"You're not warm. Let me know if you don't feel well. I have a feeling you caught a cold from being at the lake," After Vikki finished breakfast, we started to leave for school, Dimitri being the one to drive us there. When Vikki got out of the car, she told us that she would see us around. I just stayed in the car.

"Want to tell me what's going on?" He asked.

"Just…nervous I guess," He smiled at me.

"You'll be fine. Don't worry," The two of us got out and believe it or not, there was a wild group of girls screaming Dimitri's name. I instantly stepped back. Sensing my courage die in flames, Dimitri told them to back away and head to class immediately. The girls giggled and Dimitri looked at me.

"We can't…uh…" I showed him my hand as if asking for him to take it. He shook his head. Suddenly, he pulled me to behind the car where no one can see me and gave me a passionate, but forceful kiss. When he pulled away, he held me up as my knees gave out.

"That better?" I nodded. "Come on. Leave before me and head to the gym at the end of the hallway. I'll meet up with you when class starts. I'm just going to meet the headmaster first," I headed inside and followed the rest of the students into the school. I clenched my fists, my heart was thumping, and I pretty much was having a major culture shock. When I got to the gym, there was a shock. All guys. Not one girl was in that gym. When I came in, there was a teacher there who stared at me. A lady, almost like Alberta's age, was speaking in Russian to me. I stood there, just staring, not understanding a word she said.

"I'm sorry!" Dimitri ran in and told the teacher what was going on. I dropped my stuff off to the left of the room and I saw two pills in the bag. No, they weren't drugs, but they were drugs I took when I was little. Whenever I would feel nervous, my heart beat faster than my body could handle and it simply was something that prevented my heart from doing that. I decided not to take it. Dimitri said I would be alright and I was going to believe him on that. Dimitri came over to me suddenly as I blanked out.

"Rose? Hey, Rose?" He waved in front of me.

"Hey, yeah, what's up comrade?" He looked at me worriedly.

"You're sweating. Is everything alright?" I grabbed onto his duster and just gasped.

"Rose!" The students started whispering. "Rose, are you okay?" My vision hazed quickly as I reached for the bag. The reaction was spreading quickly. My heart started beating too fast. Dimitri reached into the bag and found the pills. "Rose…are these drugs?" I shook my head. "Rose!" I grabbed them out of his hand, my own hands shaking. I quickly swallowed them and gulped water down. I gasped and my heart slowed. I looked at Dimitri.

"They're not drugs…" I whispered.

"Rose, do you have some type of medical condition I apparently don't know about?" He asked warily.

"Yes…after the car accident with Lissa, I had a medical condition called arrhythmia. Every time I became startled or nervous, my heart beat faster than my body can handle. It was a temporary thing. The doctor said I would be fine and the problem disappeared. I brought them with me at the last minute," I whispered.

"Can you stay in class?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine," I got the darkness revving through my body. When I had enough energy, I dulled the energy and I was normal again. Jumping a bit, I got myself energized. Dimitri was kind to give instructions in English. I sparred with him, but every second I fought him, I could feel something off. Suddenly, when I stopped, Dimitri accidentally punched me in the face and I fell backwards.

"Hey! I'm so sorry!" I was stunned.

"You're mean…" I stood up. "Why are you going easy on me?" I asked him.

"Well, you…just now…" I punched him back.

"Don't go easy on me. Ever," I told him. I came at him with full strength. We fought and fought until I pinned him multiple times. As class ended, we stayed like that for a while before I stood up. I suddenly coughed and Dimitri stood up quickly.

"Rose!" I coughed a bit more.

"I'm fine," When I stopped, I drank some water. "So am I done for the day?" I asked. Dimitri just stared at me worriedly. "Look, I'm fine. Don't worry," I reassured him.

"Rose, go to the infirmary. I'll meet up with you in a bit. Tell the nurse to give you a checkup on your heart and that's an order, so do not disobey me. Is that clear?" He asked sternly.

"Yes, sir," I mumbled and headed down to the infirmary. When I got there, no one was there. I laid on a bed and relaxed. I put my hand on my chest and felt my heart beating slightly irregular. When I started to fall asleep, I felt my heart calm finally. As I closed my eyes, Dimitri ran in.

"Oh god…hey, are you asleep?" I purposely didn't answer him. "Rose?" I felt him lean close to my breathing. "Good…Rose, are you asleep?" I pretended to be asleep still. Suddenly, I felt his lips on mine. I slowly opened my eyes and he smiled at me. "Hey, sleeping beauty," I smiled a bit at him.

"You don't have a class to teach?" He shook his head.

"Period off," He answered quickly. Suddenly the nurse came in and gasped. Dimitri started speaking in Russian and she awed in between her conversation. She nodded and closed the curtain around us.

"What did you tell her?" I asked, curiously.

"The truth. I figured she could keep it. We've known each other for a while. It's been a while since I've seen her, but still. She's a person to trust," Dimitri climbed into the bed and held me against him.

"Get some rest. When you wake, I'll likely be teaching, but you know where to find me," I snuggled against him and he made sure I felt safe around him. It had been a while since I felt like that. Eventually, I did fall asleep, calm for once. "I love you, my Roza," I giggled and kissed him as he kissed back. "Go to sleep now. Really," I quickly closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.

_Few hours later…_

"Mm…" I woke up and to my amazement, Dimitri was still here. "Woah, Dimitri!" He slowly opened his eyes. "Didn't you have class to teach?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's lunch break now," He mumbled.

"Had a hard day or something?" He just nodded. I giggled and got up.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm fine. My heart's beating regularly now so I'll be fine for a while. The medicine already kicked in," Dimitri rubbed his eyes and got up. Ironically, the two of us yawned at the same time.

"We're not having a good start to the school day, are we?" He joked. I laughed.

"Oh well, at least we're together," I took his hand as we shared a romantic kiss. As he wrapped his arms around me waist, I wrapped my arms around his neck. After a few minutes, he leaned in so our foreheads were touching.

"I love you so much, Dimitri," I whispered.

"I love you too," He gave me another quick kiss. "We should probably get going," I nodded and headed to the gym with him. When we got there, another class was there. I sat down at the side of the gym, out of the class's way.

"Good afternoon, Guardian Belikov," The class chanted at the same time.

"Good afternoon, class," Then class got started. It was decently fun to see them spar with each other. Suddenly, I heard Dimitri's voice yelling. "You boys over there! Stop messing around!" Two boys started rough housing a bit.

"Oops!" I saw the boy accidentally hit some beams behind him. Dimitri went over and told them to stop. Unfortunately, the gym was in construction so tools were everywhere. When I saw what was going on, I ran to Dimitri.

"Rose!" I pulled Dimitri out of the way and pushed the two boys away from me. "ROSE!" I looked up and the beams came crashing down on top of me. "ROZA!" I heard Dimitri yell. When I opened my eyes, I saw the ground as well as the metal beams on top of me. "Someone get the paramedics! Roza, sweetheart!" He took my hand. Good. He was safe. "Roza! You have to stay awake!" He yelled again. I tried to move my body but everything hurt. Tears streamed down my eyes.

"It hurts…" I cried. Dimitri started panicking and removed the beams on top of me. When I felt the load lighten, I tried to move my arm and screamed. My left arm was broken. When I tried to move my right arm, it didn't move. I saw blood flow freely from me as there was a giant cut through my arm there.

"Rose, don't move!" He told me. The paramedics finally came and got me into an ambulance. Dimitri went with me, grabbing my hand tightly. During the ride, my consciousness faded in and out.

"She's losing a lot of blood! What type blood do you have, sir?" The paramedic asked.

"Type B-positive," He quickly spoke up. The paramedic started to laugh.

"She'll be fine. We'll do a blood transfusion if you don't mind," The man spoke in Russian-accented English.

"Of course not," When I closed my eyes again, they felt heavy. Darkness surrounded me. The sounds were loud. I wanted to block them out. Then everything in the hospital passed in a blur. I remember being in surgery as Dimitri kept me company. When I was knocked out, I kept hearing his voice though. "I'm here Rose, I'll always be here,"

_Several hours later…_

Finally feeling strength return, I pushed out of the darkness surrounding me and woke up in yet, another hospital room. The room was dark and as I looked deep into the darkness, I saw a shadow there unmoving. Dimitri was asleep and I started to get up slowly, quietly. A pain shot through my back, but I continued to move. I wanted to leave. I wanted to go home. I've had enough of this cat and mouse chase. It was never ending and I knew well enough that it would kill me eventually. As I got up and headed for the door, Dimitri was still asleep. I opened the door just enough to leave. As nurses saw me, I glared at them. I wanted them to stay quiet.

"Where do you think you're going, Miss Hathaway?" I turned and saw a doctor. I sighed.

"I'm leaving. Don't wake Dimitri, but when he wakes, tell him that I've had enough. Tell him that I don't want to be hurt anymore. Tell him that I don't want to hurt him like that either. I'm tired of all this," I kept walking towards the exit of the hospital. Taking my stuff with me into the elevator, I clicked the button that brought me down to the ground floor. When I got outside, I took a cab and headed towards the airport. It took a while and it didn't seem to me that Dimitri was following. After paying the fare to the driver, I stepped into the airport.

"One ticket to Missoula, Montana," I told the lady at the front check in desk. "Cheapest price please," It took a short time since it wasn't like anyone would just go to Missoula. The next step after was to just walk through security. I looked back, and Dimitri was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he wouldn't come after me anymore. That's right, he loved Siberia. _'Don't leave…' _I started to turn around. That was Dimitri's voice. _'Don't leave…please…'_ Tears stung my eyes. I wanted to leave, but not like this. When I turned around though, no one was there. Was I imagining things? A warm feeling started to spread throughout my body. It felt nice, safe. I started to walk back towards the lobby. _'Don't leave!'_ I turned to where I heard the voice and I looked upstairs and saw Dimitri, panicking. He was looking for me. _'Damn it! Where are you?'_ I kept looking at him. "Illusion's magic!" Everything around the two of us disappeared.

"Rose!" Dimitri turned to me, running towards me with everything he had. But when he got too close, I stepped back. "Rose…sweetheart…what's wrong?"

"I'm tired…" I whispered.

"Then come back and rest! Rose, you're not fully healed yet," He told me. I shook my head weakly. Using my powers like this was exhausting especially in my state. "Roza, listen to me! Stop all of this! Just let me take care of you! Is that too much to ask? For you to be safe, just once?" He begged now. I shook my head, covering my ears. I didn't know what I was doing. I wanted to be safe, but everything was so unfamiliar now. Getting hurt all the time, suffering, I never was like this before. Things had changed, rules for the game changed now.

"I want to go home…" I mumbled.

"You know you can't! You're going to get captured if you go back," He told me.

"But am I not already in a checkmate position?" I asked him back. "I stay here, he'll come eventually. When? I don't know. If I go back home, at least I can defend for myself. But right now, I'm in no better of a position!" I yelled. "Dispell!" Everything around me reappeared and soon, Dimitri looked down from the second floor, seeing me. My mind was made. I was going home whether anyone liked it or not. Walking through security, I saw Dimitri trying to buy a ticket. When I made it through, I ran to the gate. Dimitri was behind me when I looked back. He was in the midst of getting through security still while I escaped. I ran into the girl's bathroom in the meantime. Ladies in there saw me and quickly left. My heart pounded like before and I sank to the floor, light-headed and weak. My medical condition had started to reappear and even I didn't know why. I looked in my bag and took the last pill. It had to last until another attack would come up so I quickly left.

"Oh no, you don't!" I ran and Dimitri yanked on my wrist hard. I winced and looked at him. "Don't you dare run from me. Talk to me. What's going on? I know you're freaking out and from the looks of it, you took another pill. Is something scaring you?" He asked, concerned. I gulped.

"I'm terrified…" I whispered.

"Of what? Of me? Of this place?" He kept asking.

"Of dying! I'm afraid of dying again! I keep seeing the car accident in my mind. And I saw it play out again when those bars hit me. I don't want to die. I want to go home…" I started to cry.

"Oh sweetheart," He hugged me. "Then go home. This place is scaring you and I don't to see you like this. You don't have any more medicine too if I'm not mistaken so we have to get you home. There's almost no chance of you surviving here without the medicine," I was shocked as he took my hand, leading me to the gate.

"What? What about you?" He smiled gently.

"I can't leave just yet. I just started this job. I have to notify them the situation and then I'll head back where I'll meet up with you. Alright? You're my first priority," He kissed me multiple times. When they called for last minute passengers, I headed towards the entrance to the plane. "We'll see each other soon," I gave Dimitri one last kiss and then I heard him say, "I love you Roza," After heading in, I got seated. Even though Dimitri wasn't going to be with me, I was going to prove it to him that being at home made me stronger. It wasn't long before the plane took off. I relaxed a bit when we were in air, but then a chill ran up my spine. Something didn't feel right. I stood up when the seatbelt sign was off and looked behind me. There, a man in the back gave a smirk. When I looked at him, I was terrified. It was Ryan's father. The Strigoi from last time who my dad fought with was here. He started to approach me and I ignored him.

"Roza," He called out to me. I turned to him. Not wanting to create a scene, I went to him reluctantly.

"How did you find me? Why are you here?" I hissed.

"Oh, it's not hard. Ryan, naïve as always, didn't realize that on his cloak was a tracking device implanted by me. My dear, it's time you came home, now isn't it?" He teased. "My, how you seem to have forgotten me when you were mine long ago," He told me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"Dear Roza, I believe you recognize this?" He showed me the same pills that I took.

"How do you know about that? No one knew about the medication except my parents. The only one who knew is my mom. How do you know this?" I demanded.

"Because I'm your real father, Rose," He smirked. I backed away quickly.

"Abe's my father. That's a lie!" I yelled quietly.

"Oh is he? Then how does this sound? I had an affair with your mother while I worked with Abe. The baby she conceived was ours. While we were creating this power, the power you contain, Abe decided to steal your mother from me. Janine told your "father" about the baby she carried, but he didn't seem to care. He said he'd raise it as his own, knowing it was you. Then when the power was complete, he stole it from the lab and then used it on you. Rose, I do hope you know what his name 'Zmey' means, right?" He asked. I shook my head carefully.

"It means snake. That's right. Abe betrayed me. So of course, I had another child. Ryan was to be my next container for the same power, but because of his weak mother, he had the weak body. I developed the power once more and injected it into myself. But then, then I was determined to find you" I clenched my fist.

"You're lying…" I shook my head. He had to be kidding me.

"Fine. Don't believe me if you wish," He smirked and let me go. I stood there.

"Then how do I know you're my father?" I asked him cautiously.

"You don't. I know you but you simply don't know me," I stepped away from him. Was this why even my mom didn't keep in touch with Abe? I went back to my seat, devastated. Who was telling the truth now?

**Ooo…cliffhanger! So sorry for not posting in a long, long time! I had midterms and fights with friends to deal with, but now I'm back! Please review! There has been many faves and whatnot, but I do wish to see more reviews! Thanks**


	9. Chapter 9: A Welcome Home Indeed

**So here's chapter 9!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any VA characters except for Ryan and those others.**

**Chapter 9**

_Back at the Missoula airport…_

After landing, I quickly got off. When I turned back, Ryan's father, or should I say my father was following me from a distance. I was confused as I tried to rack my brain of some memory that could sort this out. Thing was, he had said that mom was still carrying me while Abe got together with her. That meant I wasn't going to have any memories or him whatsoever. When I looked behind him though, for a flash, I thought I saw Dimitri.

"There's no way…he left me after I got on the airplane…" I told myself. When I turned around, starting to leave the airport, my father grabbed me.

"Not a chance. I'm not going to let you leave here this easily. You're coming with me," He told me. I yanked my hand back and growled at him.

"Don't you dare touch me!" Anger burned within me as confusion swarmed my mind. Suddenly, a portal appeared and Ryan stepped through.

"That's enough! Leave her alone!" He protected me.

"Get out of the way, Ryan. That's an order!" My father yelled.

"Rose, get out of here, run!" Ryan told me. That seemed like a good idea at the time so I fled.

"You son of bitch!" I turned back and saw Ryan slammed onto the ground. I stopped and watched. Ryan looked at me just as Mason had the moment he died.

"NO!" I ran back and right as my father was going to kill Ryan, I protected him. I covered his body with mine, slamming my father aside. Instantly, all my powers started to unleash wildly as I felt I had to do everything I could to protect Ryan. When Ryan opened his eyes again, he looked straight into my eyes.

"Rose…I'm alright…" He told me. I stood up and faced my father.

"Well, two against one now doesn't seem fair. I guess I'll come back another day," He disappeared just like that. My powers stopped and all my strength started to leave.

"I've got you," I looked up and saw Dimitri holding me up.

"Dimitri…" I mumbled.

"It's alright. I saw everything. You did a good job. Get some rest," My feet crumbled beneath me and Dimitri picked me up into his arms. "Ryan, you coming?"

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"You didn't think I would actually let you fly back on your own. I just wanted to see if you could protect yourself like you always say," He kissed my forehead. I relaxed a bit and saw Ryan looking down.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…sis…" I looked at him.

"Sis? You mean what your father said was true, Ryan?" Dimitri asked.

"Dimitri, how much did you hear?" I asked him now.

"The entire thing. Ryan, your father well knew I was on that plane, but he didn't stop me. Why?" Dimitri asked again.

"I don't know. I was at home until I felt a chill up my spine. That's when I knew Rose was in trouble," Ryan explained. I struggled to get out of Dimitri's arms and Dimitri put me down.

"Ryan, when did you know I was your half-sister?" I asked him.

"To be honest, I've known all along. My first order from father was to capture you. That time you were alone. It was the first time we met or at least face to face. You were upset during that time and even though my orders were clear, it felt wrong to go after you when you were so vulnerable looking," He explained.

We kept walking to airport's exit.

"So how much older am I compared to you?" I asked Ryan.

"Actually it's the other way around. I'm older than you are. You were born later even though your mother carried you before I existed. Because father had injected himself with the same power the two of us have now, I grew at a faster rate. Though I look your age, I'm actually a year older than you are. If I'm not mistaken, you're seventeen, right?" I nodded. "I'm eighteen now," He answered.

"Uh, Ryan, if I may intrude. Just what does your father want with Rose besides the biological relationship?" Dimitri held my hand at this point.

"Because I grew at a faster rate, my body couldn't keep up. I was weak as a child. Father tried to train me, to be like Rose, if not stronger and faster. But I would get sick after every practice so I became the failed experiment. When he realized that, Rose became the new target. Father believes that he can find peace between Strigoi and Moroi and Dhampirs, but he would have to be the leader to keep control of everything. He needed a secret weapon. That weapon was Rose. Ibrahim Mazur eloped with Rose's mother while she was still carrying her. After that moment, Mr. Mazur banned father permanently from every approaching Rose. He was well aware of the dangers of the power. He knew that if Rose trained with the power, she'd die at a young age. But recently, the Strigoi have gotten restless. They have been coming for father, asking where Rose was. Somehow the Moroi have started attacking the Strigoi much more recently and it's been hard for father to suppress their restlessness any longer. That's why he needs Rose. He wants Rose to destroy the Moroi who have been attacking the Strigoi while at the same time helping him gain position within the world," I looked at Ryan with a strange look.

"So in other words, he's no different from the typical evil villain of wanting to take over the world," I spoke up.

"To put it in simple terms, yes," Ryan answered. "Your father, so to speak, Abe Mazur, tried to protect you and your mother from all of this. Unfortunately, things have started to unravel because you have been hidden for so long. You might think your mother abandoned you at the school, but it was for a good reason. The wards that keep the Strigoi away, kept father away too. He couldn't reach you as long as you stayed within school ground. But two years ago, you ran. You took Princess Vasilisa with you. That's when your existence was known to father. He followed you. He wanted to test you, see how much you've grown, but the night he tried to attack, Guardian Belikov beat him to it," He explained more in depth.

"That night in Portland?" I asked. Ryan simply nodded. "How did you know about that?" At this point, we all got into the car that was heading to the academy.

"Well, it wasn't hard to guess since I tailed you during that time. I've been watching you for two years as hard as it may seem. You gave me multiple instances to capture you, but I disobeyed father. I couldn't do it," He admitted. From the look of his face, he was really upset about it too. "Every day, it was always father saying how strong you were compared to me. To be honest, at one point, I thought I would kill you. But I couldn't. I saw your different emotions then. Loving, caring, strong, brave, all of those, including sadness, happiness, it became fun for me to watch you. Eventually, all I wanted was to protect you from father. I couldn't stand seeing your happiness be torn from you," He smiled at me. His smile carried pure sadness though. It was unbearable to the point, I started crying.

"Rose…" Dimitri put his arm around me.

"Rose, are you okay?" Ryan asked. I turned away from him.

"She's alright. Just give her some space," Dimitri rubbed my back. "It's a lot for her to take in right now," After we got back to the school, I looked around. Things hadn't changed much and classes were still going on. "Rose, why don't you go back and get some rest?" Dimitri suggested. I shook my head.

"I have something to figure out. Ryan?" He nodded.

"Dimitri, why don't you head back and go check in with Headmistress Kirova. I'll be in the school garden," Dimitri gave me a kiss and I kissed him back.

"I'll see you in twenty?" I nodded. Ryan and I headed to the garden.

"So…" I tried to start a conversation somehow. "Now that we're back here, is father going to come after me?" I asked.

"Most likely. He knows you're back at the school already by now. He won't be able to approach you personally, but even now, there's probably someone watching us," I sighed.

"I'm really never going to have a normal life, will I…" I tried to laugh.

"Rose…" He looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry!" He suddenly hugged me. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from all this sooner. I was such a coward and I couldn't face you as a Strigoi either!" I smiled and hugged him back.

"It's alright. I'm not that weak. That just means I have to start training with this power," Ryan let go of me.

"You can't! It'll kill you," He warned me.

"I know it might. But I'm not one to just stay here and be a sitting duck. I've already learned the spells Bahlskra, Signum, and the Sand Coffin," Ryan sighed.

"It's not that simple. Anyone can master those spells. Those are simple defense spells. You need to learn attack spells too. We also have to boost up your defense spells. Rose, it's a lot of work. If you don't learn the spells correctly, they backfire and burn you," He pulled off his shirt and on his back were multiple scars that looked like burn marks. My breath hitched.

"What happened?" I asked cautiously.

"Father wanted me to learn spells quickly so he made me practice a lot. Thing was, he never taught me how to learn the simpler versions first. So every time a move failed, it shot electricity through my back, and then the burn marks appeared," I touched them gently and he shuddered.

"I'll heal them," I told him. He quickly grabbed my arm.

"No. Promise me that you will never learn the healing spell!" I backed away quickly.

"Why not?" I asked.

"The spell destroys the user bit by bit. The more you heal, the more damage to the user. It takes your energy and puts it in the other person. But heal too much and the user will die," He released my hand and put his shirt back on again.

"Rose, learning this type of magic is dangerous. Please don't treat it lightly," His voice became cold and I knew I had to drop the subject.

"I should probably go," I told him. He didn't stop me as I ran to Dimitri's room. When I was running to Dimitri's room, I collided with someone. "Ouch!" I looked up and saw Dimitri.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. It took me a second to realize what he said so I shook my head.

"No. Nothing's wrong," Dimitri unlocked his door and let me into his room. I ran in and jumped onto his bed, rolling side to side on the bed. When I heard the door close, I stopped though.

"What did Ryan say to you, Rose?" He asked in a stern voice. He had caught on that something was wrong.

"Nothing really. He was just telling me what spells I had to learn and what needed to be done," I told him.

"Then why do you look upset? Rose, what's bothering you?" He asked. I sighed, trying to smile.

"Nothing. He just said that I shouldn't learn the healing spell. He said that it would destroy the user bit by bit and he wasn't going to let me sacrifice myself for his injuries. Dimitri, he's been hurt badly before. There were burn marks all over his back from misuse of power. I wanted to heal him, but he wouldn't let me," I told him everything.

"That's because he has a good heart. He's trying to protect you the way an older brother should protect their younger sister," He smiled. I had forgotten that Dimitri had Viktoria to protect. He understood Ryan better than anyone.

"I thought you hated him before," I told Dimitri.

"I did, until I found out all this just now," I looked at him oddly.

"Wait, did you think he was going to be competition for you?" I teased him.

"No! Why would I? He's just a brat," I giggled now.

"Stop laughing!" He yelled. I just started to crack up. "Why you-" Dimitri tackled me on his bed and started to tickle me. As we fought a tickle war, he finally stopped and kissed me tenderly. I relaxed and kissed him back. "I love you, Roza," He whispered in a husky voice. After that, we made love for hours without end.

_Few hours later…_

"Roza? Sweetheart, time to wake up," Dimitri nudged me. I mumbled something incoherently and opened my eyes. When I sat up, I cringed.

"Ow…" Dimitri laughed.

"That's what you get for teasing me," He mocked. I threw a pillow at him. When I got off the bed, I winced and tried to stabilize myself. Dimitri realized how bad it looked and came to help me stand.

"Are you okay?" He took my arms and wrapped them around his neck while his hands were on my hips. I leaned into him and slowly regained strength in my legs.

"Yeah. Just stay like this for a bit," I eventually started to move my legs and Dimitri let go of me.

"Come on, it's time for dinner," He tossed me my clothes that ended up on the other end of the room. I quickly got dressed and followed him out. When we started to head to the cafeteria, I saw my brother training outside.

"Wait, I'll go get him," I left Dimitri for a bit and headed into the garden. "Ryan! It's time for dinner!" I shouted. He ignored me and kept training. I looked around him and saw earphones that were blasting loud music. When I stood in front of him, he was about to kick and I jumped back.

"Rose! Don't sneak up on me like that! You could've gotten hurt!" He scolded me.

"You had earphones in. Don't blame me," I argued back.

"What's up?" He asked.

"It's dinnertime," I stated.

"Oh. You go on ahead. I'll catch up in a bit," He had a tense face on.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him. He smiled, and shook his head.

"It's alright. Just go on ahead," He told me. I had an uneasy feeling about Ryan's behavior. He seemed to be hiding something, but what, I didn't know. Either way, I joined up with Dimitri and we headed to the cafeteria. When I turned to look, Ryan was no longer training. He was just standing there.

"Dimitri, something's wrong with him…" I pointed out. Dimitri looked and headed over to Ryan.

"Go get a table. I'll find you inside," I was worried about Ryan. Something didn't seem right. I stood and watched from a distance as it looked like Dimitri was talking to Ryan. Then it started to get violent. Before I knew it, Ryan pushed Dimitri back. I ran towards them.

"What are you-" Suddenly Dimitri upright punched Ryan.

"Don't you ever say that about her!" I heard Dimitri yell at him.

"She's weak and you know it! I want to protect her as much as you love her, but it's hard when everyone is after her! The Strigoi are after her and her own father is after her! And I can't let her learn anymore moves. She's going to die!" I heard Ryan argue back and clenched my fist. He thought I was weak. That landed Ryan another hit from Dimitri.

"Say she's weak again and I will make you wish you were back with your father! She's not weak and you know it! She's been through a lot, more than you have despite your battle scars to prove it!"

"Stop…" Suddenly both of them turned to me.

"Rose…"

"Roza…"

"Ryan, you're mean!" I screamed and suddenly a spark of darkness struck at Ryan, sending him a few steps back. "I'm not weak, and I'll prove it!" I charged at him and tackled him into a tree. He grunted and I looked into his eyes. Instantly, I grabbed his neck and threw him downwards into the ground. Ryan grabbed my arm and sent me flying straight after. I landed on the roof of a building and growled menacingly. Finally, the darkness wrapped itself around me like a barrier as I launched myself at Ryan, tackling him from the roof.

"That's enough!" Dimitri stepped in front of Ryan and I slammed into Dimitri instead. Dimitri hit a tree and grunted, but still kept a firm grip on me. I struggled to get out of his grip, but he held on tight.

"That's enough, Roza! Snap out of it!" He covered my eyes and curled up with me in his lap. "It's alright. Just let it go," I struggled against him. "Look at me, Rose," He brought my head up so that I was looking straight at him. "That's a good girl. Come on, it's time for dinner," Dimitri helped me stand as I looked at Ryan.

"I'm only trying to protect you," He whispered. I left him and went with Dimitri. After we got into the cafeteria, Lissa walked by me cheerfully.

"Huh?" She turned to me and her face brightened. "ROSE!" She tackled me and gave me the biggest hug possible. "Hey everyone! Rose is back!" Christian and the others from the table stood up and came to greet me. I hugged everyone back.

"God, I missed all of you guys!" I yelled while laughing. Dimitri looked from a distance with a smile on his face. He knew this was my home and that I couldn't be removed from it. I quickly grabbed food and joined the others. This was definitely home. Dimitri grabbed a salad and just sat down next to me. He brushed my hair quickly with his hand and smiled at me.

"Welcome home, darling," Dimitri told me. I nuzzled against him and everyone awed.

"Welcome home, indeed," I responded.

**Now isn't that a cute ending to a chapter! Hope you guys really enjoyed this chapter so please review! Please and thank you! Until next chapter, stay tuned!**


	10. Chapter 10: Truth's Consequences

**So this is chapter 10!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any VA characters!**

**Chapter 10**

Everything moved fast. Ever since I got back to the school, everyone was acting so normal. Okay, so maybe they weren't acting, but it felt weird, out of place. Maybe I was the one out of place. Was it because of Ryan?

"Rose, are you okay?" I turned to the voice. It was Dimitri. I quickly stood up and stared at him. "Rose, is everything alright?" I tried to understand him. A screech went through my mind and I cringed.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. I just need some space," I quickly escaped from the cafeteria.

"Oh, no you don't!" Dimitri came after me as if from pursuit. I walked through the hallways quickly. Turns after turns, it got to the point where I had no idea what was going on or what the hell I was even doing.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Someone spun me around and suddenly I was facing Ryan. He looked into my eyes. "Rose, you're freaking out. What's wrong? Tell me," I was in tears before I knew it.

"I-I just…I can't…I…" I stuttered. Dimitri saw the two of us and quickly tried to separate me from Ryan.

"You can't what? I can't understand you, Rose," I saw Dimitri and flinched. "Belikov, she's hysterical!"

Dimitri cradled me and quickly brought me to his room.

"Rose, it's alright. Everything's going to be okay," He wrapped his arms around me. "It's alright sweetheart. Look at me. Tell me what's wrong," Dimitri whispered while brushing aside my hair. Slowly, he laid me down on my side on the bed to get me to relax.

"I know what it is," Suddenly another voice came up and we all turned to the door. My father was standing there. Not Ryan's father, but presumably my father, Abe or Zmey.

"What's wrong with her?" Dimitri and Ryan asked.

"It's nothing that bad to be honest. It simply looks worse than it actually is. It's power withdrawal. She used her powers earlier I'm assuming. Lot of energy, short amount of time, it's short circuiting her a bit. Here," My father handed me over a bunch of pills, the same pills for the arrhythmia. I quickly took a pill and everything calmed. I sat up, gasping a bit.

"Hey, are you alright?" Dimitri hugged me.

"I'm fine now. Dimitri, can I talk to my father in private? Take Ryan with you," Dimitri looked at me oddly.

"Are you sure? Are you going to be okay?" I nodded in response to Dimitri's questions and he kissed me in return. I nodded one more time and he took Ryan out of the room.

"So, kiz, what is this all about?" Did he seriously have no clue?

"Don't call me kiz. Why didn' you tell me that I'm Ryan's sister? Or better, why my own real biological father is trying to come after me?" Abe looked at me, shocked. There was a moment of silence before he sighed.

"When did you know? Who told you?" He asked.

"Is that important? I found out several hours ago by my father. What are you not telling me? Or better, what's left?" I challenged him.

"Rose…you…" He was trying to avoid the word that even I knew I would dread.

"Say it. I dare you," I pushed him more. Abe's face was one of discomfort. When he sighed, I could tell he gave in.

"You were created to be a weapon by Ryan's father, your father. When I found out, I couldn't let him do that. I quickly forced myself to fall for your mother so I could get you outo to safety. Your powers are special. Once you master all elements of magic, you become the world's deadliest weapon and threat. So imagine being with your father. You'd be forced to go into a path of killing. I never wanted that for you. But…all this recently has gone out of hand," He admitted it. I didn't react. To be honest, I had long knew the first time I saw Ryan's father, but I wanted to make sure.

"So I'm just a tool. Couldn't I be on my own? Either you're in charge or my father's in charge. What if I was on my own?" I asked. It could be a solution. If no one were to obtain my powers, everything would stay the way it was, right?

"Then we would have to kill you," That's when my face paled. Say what? Did my father, so to speak, just say he had to kill me? "You're too dangerous to go uncontrolled. You've seen only the start of your powers. Either you can save the world or you can destroy the world. Both your father and I want to save the world. We disagreed on the end on who's in charge simply because you would determine the status depending on who you stayed with at the end. But we both decided that you could not be on your own. I don't want it to come to that though. Kiz, I love you. I can't kill you," He started tearing up and reached for me. Out of fear though, I backed up quickly. He stopped at the same time.

"Would my own father ever hurt me?" I asked. Ryan's father seemed like an egotistical bastard, sure. But, never once has he actually threated to kill me. Abe sighed again.

"No…he wouldn't dare. He needs you for your powers…but he…still loves you in his own way. I'm sure of that," He answered me straightforwardly. I nodded. "But right now, he's trying to catch a bird that keeps flying away…literally." Dimitri suddenly barged in.

"The reason she keeps leaving is because the two of you. If she needs someone to control her, I'll do it!" Dimitri demanded.

"Doesn't work that way. On the day of her eighteenth birthday, her powers will unleash. One wish will be granted to whom she desires. The next round would be when she's twenty-one and then every three years," Abe explained.

"That's Dimitri though. I love Dimitri. I'm not going to betray him just for the two of you," I quickly spoke up.

"Kiz…Rose, but what if you were being threatened say with Dimitri's safety? Would you side with your father then?" I didn't answer because I knew the answer already.

"Zmey, sir, I can control her. I've done it before during her exam," I cringed at that memory. Abe looked at Dimitri oddly.

"You're telling me that you de-escalated her before," Dimitri firmly nodded.

"Back during her exam, I was ambushed as part of the exam. I was roughed up a bit and tied to a tree. Rose had to come save me. That was her exam. But her rational mind was thrown out the window when she saw me. She went all out and the forest that's still burnt is proof of that. But I still calmed her down. Sure, she ended up in the hospital at the end, but I got her to stop," Abe thought about the possibility.

"Maybe Old Lady Yeva was right about you…" He started.

"Sir, I'll train if I have to. I just don't want Rose to suffer anymore, especially all this alone. She's had enough. She'll hit her breaking point if I don't intervene in this matter!" Dimitri started to get impatient. I smiled at Dimitri though. He was really sweet to fight for me.

"Then we're going to have to get working. How are you feeling?" Abe asked me.

"I'm fine now," I told him quickly.

"Good. Dimitri, gear up. We're going to start training now," Dimitri and I looked at each other. This was going to be an interesting turn of events.

"But what is he training for?" I asked Abe.

"He's training on how to calm you down quickly and efficiently. Your powers are only starting to sprout. You have yet to see them at their true potential and I have to prepare Dimitri for that if he is to control you as he says," Abe answered. When Dimitri finished gearing up, we headed to the gym. It was empty as all the students were probably in classrooms.

"Illusion's magic!" Abe yelled. The room suddenly changed and it seemed as if we were outside. "This place is all an illusion. It'll fit for magic training since you can't actually destroy anything here. Pain will still exist so be careful. All your senses still react. Just the setting itself won't be destroyed. It'll still react. Trees will still burn, but it's not like real trees are burning. So, here it goes!" Abe suddenly turned around and punched Dimitri in the stomach. Dimitri doubled over in pain as I watched.

"What are you doing?" I screamed.

"Triggering your powers," He hit Dimitri again and Dimitri fell unconscious. I ran to Dimitri but Abe threw me aside. "Go to sleep for now," I felt something hit my neck as I ended up falling unconscious too.

_An hour later…_

I groaned as I picked myself up off the ground. "Where am I?" I was in a field of grass. This was the training grounds. I turned and saw a proctor behind me telling the same rules I remembered. What was this? This wasn't an illusion, but a memory. I thought this was an illusion though. If Abe started this, there was no way he saw my exam. He couldn't have remembered this. He didn't even experience this.

"Time's ticking," The proctor told me. I walked through the forest. I remembered the way so I wasn't alarmed yet. As I walked in the direction though, things became unfamiliar. How much time had passed? I turned and before I knew it, I was just as lost as last time. Going through the same strategy though, I was still calm as I jumped onto the trees, looking from above. As I felt time pass, my heart started to pound. I was totally tricked in this. Then, something caught my attention. The rose on the ground was there so I followed it just as before.

"Not so fast, little girl," Someone yanked the back of my shirt and threw me into a tree. What the hell? I looked and saw a Strigoi. Not a teacher dressed as one, but a real one. I quickly backed up, realizing I had no stake though. Wait, this is an illusion. Couldn't I just run through him? I approached him carefully but as soon as I got too close, he struck at me, tackling to the ground. He was very much alive and I panicked. I kicked him off and ran, but as I ran, more Strigoi appeared. How could there be this many?

"Don't you dare get any closer!" I warned them. They had no intention of following my warning.

"Stop!" I screamed. A dark aura burst around me as it created a barrier. The Strigoi attacked, constantly hitting the shield, but they couldn't get to me. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" I screamed and shocks of darkness hit the Strigoi, sending them flying into the trees. But if these were real, then this was no illusion. Was it? Then I remembered the proctor's words. "Time's ticking…" Hopefully that didn't mean Dimitri. I ran past the Strigoi, trying to go as fast as I could. Finally I found the giant tree like last time. Only this time, Dimitri wasn't tied up. He was a Strigoi. My heart pounded and I backed away.

"Dimitri…this is an illusion right?" I started to choke on my own words.

"If this was an illusion, I'd be sad. These powers are pretty cool I must admit. I kind of like it," I shook my head. What was he saying? I didn't have a stake on me, how was I supposed to fight him? Dimitri tackled me into a tree and I cried.

"Stop…please…don't do this…" I sobbed.

"I wonder how you taste," Just as he was about to bite though, he stopped.

"Illusion's magic!" The place dispelled and soon I saw Dimitri again except we were in the gym again. My heart was reacting quickly and as soon as Dimitri moved, my body reacted too. I was terrified and shaking.

"Rose, that was an illusion! Snap out of it!" Dimitri yelled. I shook my head. What was that? I crumbled to the floor in tears.

"Rose…" I hugged myself as Abe just watched all of this. This was the test. My powers were riled up and my body reacted terribly. This was what Dimitri was supposed to fix. Except now I was worried, he couldn't fix it. I gasped and Dimitri came closer. On automatic reaction though, a shock hit Dimitri.

"Don't…please…don't come any closer…" I warned him.

"What did you make her see, Zmey?" Dimitri demanded. He stayed silent.

"You said you could control her. Prove it," Dimitri looked at me, worried. I ran outside now.

"Rose!" Dimitri came after me. I ran out to the field and now I was totally tricked. Did I even get out of the illusion or was this all a trick? "Roza! That's enough!" Dimitri grabbed me from behind and I screamed.

"Get off of me!" I pushed him away. "You…don't you dare touch me. I hate you!" Dimitri froze as I realized what I had said. Darkness started to run through my body and I cringed in pain. It felt like I was being shocked by electricity all over.

"Roza, you have to listen to me! This is me! I don't know what you saw in that illusion, but this is reality!" He turned me to him and out of impulse, bit him.

"Rose…" I was sobbing as I bit harder. I heard him groan in pain since I couldn't give him any endorphins. "Rose…stop…it's me," I didn't release at all.

"Please…don't leave…" I begged him.

"Rose, I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here with you. It's going to be okay…" I released my bite and calmed quickly when things started to make more sense. I looked into his eyes and saw the sweet brown color of them. When I calmed, I stayed silent. I was totally tricked from before. The illusion wasn't for Dimitri, but for me.

"How did you…" Abe clapped his hands in amusement. "Wow, I must admit. You have more power over her than I thought," Dimitri chuckled in an angry way.

"Zmey, if it wasn't for training, you'd be dead for doing this to her. She's your daughter, biological or not!" I was shaking still, starting to scratch Dimitri's arm.

"What's wrong?" He asked me. When he moved his arm closer, I bit deep into it. "Rose!"

"Dimitri, it's alright. Her powers do make her feel like an animal, if not a Strigoi so just let her figure it out from her. Your test for today is done. Get her cleaned up when she's back to normal. I have some researching to do," Then, Abe disappeared just like that. Dimitri brushed my hair as I still bit his wrist.

"You're going to be okay…" He whispered.

"I'm so sorry…" I let go of his wrist. "I got totally tricked, and I just…" Dimitri didn't let me continue. He hugged me instead.

"I know, sweetheart. It's alright. Look, why don't you get cleaned up in my room. I have to go talk to Abe for a few minutes. Are you going to be okay on your own?" I nodded and stood up. "Careful," I stood there as Dimitri left. Thing was, I had no intention of following his instructions. Something was off. I had never reacted like this before so I had to do some digging myself. Giving a few seconds, I started to follow Dimitri from a safe distance. I knew Dimitri's range of sensing people and I stood right outside of it as I followed him. Eventually I followed him to Abe's room. To be honest, he was still my father in a way. I leaned against the door and listened.

"We need to talk. Now," That was Dimitri's voice and from the sound of it, he wasn't happy at all. Probably, especially what I did to him.

"Please, sit. What's on your mind?" My father asked.

"She's not a dhampir is she. Rose, I mean," That caught my attention. I would've reacted but it would've given me away. I heard my father sigh.

"No. that reaction wasn't supposed to happen," What the hell were they talking about? Of course I'm a dhampir.

"What's going on Zmey? Tell me," Dimitri kept up his angry voice.

"…I shouldn't," I heard my father's voice soften.

"Now. Or should I remind you. When Rose was conceived, was her father a dhampir at the time?" Now I knew where he was getting at. I prayed that the answer was a yes. There wasn't an answer and I slowly sank to my knees.

"NOW!" I flinched at Dimitri's voice.

"No! Rose is a half Strigoi half dhampir girl," That right then felt as if someone had killed me then and there. So that's why I bit Dimitri…

"You son of a bitch," I heard Dimitri growl. "You confined the girl I love to death knowing that the added power makes her the world's deadliest weapon. What were you thinking? You couldn't have given her the normal life, could you?" I got up and stumbled a bit. Tears slowly trickled down. When the door suddenly slammed open, my breath hitched. "Rose…" I quickly turned and ran.

"NO!" Dimitri came after me quickly but when he cut me off, my fangs appeared and he flinched. "It's alright…no one's going to hurt you…" Abe walked out too. "Zmey, who else knows this little secret?" Dimitri asked.

"Well, her biological father, might I say his name is Lucifer. Fitting, right? And the other is the headmistress here," I looked at him.

"Kirova knew?" Dimitri asked. I tried to run off but Dimitri gave me a look saying that I'd regret it. I had stopped crying, but to say I was pissed was an understatement. My father didn't talk anymore so Dimitri focused his attention on me. "Listen to me, Rose. If you run, it will be the biggest mistake of your life and you know it. I know you're angry and scared and confused, but I'm still here, aren't I?" He was trying to answer my questions before I had any left. I shook my head and backed up.

"Rose, listen to him. You're half Strigoi but you have nothing similar but the fangs and a bit of blood drinking. But you don't kill anyone willing. You don't have the bloodlust. Rose, please understand that I didn't want to do this to you…" I kept shaking my head.

"Roza…" I turned and walked away from it all.

"Rose!" I turned to Ryan's voice. Out of fury, I slapped him. "What the hell?"

"Did you know?" I screamed at him. He looked at the situation and then looked away.

"Rose…I'm sorry. I had to find out though," Dimitri apologized.

"Enough…" I sighed. Being like this couldn't change anything. Dimitri tried to wipe my tears and I let him but they wouldn't stop.

"Oh sweetheart…" Dimitri wrapped his arms and picked me up a bit to hug him. "It's alright…it's going to be okay. I'm not going to let this happen to you anymore. And listen, if you ever have the urge to drink blood, I'd rather you drink mine then hurt someone else. Is that clear?" He whispered. I nodded and held him close. I hadn't felt this vulnerable since Mason's death.

"Zmey, if you have any more damage to deal, now will the time to get it all out," Dimitri warned.

"No…that's the last bit of it,"Dimitri picked me up and brought me to his room now, closing it before Zmey or Ryan could enter.

"Do you need any blood?" I nodded and Dimitri gave me his wrist. I bit into it and drank the blood. I wasn't used to the taste, but it was neutralizing the pain in my heart in the meantime. I didn't drink much, but just enough so I was calm. Dimitri looked at his now bloody wrist.

"I'm so sorry…" I apologized. Dimitri still managed to smile through all this though.

"Rose…it's alright…this is all new to all of us," Dimitri washed his wrist as I watched. It seemed painful. He was gritting his teeth too while washing the new wound. When I tried to get out of bed, Dimitri gave me a warning look. "Rose, I'm alright. Stay in bed and rest," He came back after dressing the wound and stroked my face. "Go to sleep," I closed my eyes and Dimitri jumped in to hug me. "I can't believe you have to go through all this. You shouldn't have to…" After that, I was completely out since I shut down from the shock of it all.

**Oh dear. Poor Rose. Well, don't worry, things will get better! I promise! Hope you guys liked it and please review! **


	11. Chapter 11: Trapped and Lost

**So here's chapter 11!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any of the characters from it.**

**Chapter 11**

"She's been out for a while. Is everything alright?" I heard the same loving voice I loved.

"Yeah, she's fine. Just out cold. Look, this is too much for her. She's just a girl though," There was another voice. When I had the strength, I started to wake and move.

"Rose, how are you feeling?" I turned to Dimitri.

"I'm fine…" I told him, starting to get out of bed. Dr. Olendski was in the room.

"Rose…" She started.

"I'm fine! I'm totally fine!" I spoke louder. I grabbed my clothes, got dressed and left the room. To say I wasn't pissed still was a lie though.

"Where are you going?" Dimitri cut me off before I walked out the room.

"To get reality hit into me," I stormed out but Dimitri stopped me again.

"What? I'm not going to let you get hurt if that's what you're planning to do," I pulled away from him. If I knew Ryan well enough by now, then I knew where he was. I started to head towards the training grounds. "Rose, listen to me!" I turned to him, glaring.

"Are you mad at me because I found out without your permission?" He asked calmly.

"No, I'm not. I just need to talk to Ryan. I'll be alright," I walked towards Ryan, but Dimitri wouldn't let me go so Ryan saw the two of us.

"Rose…I heard," He told me. I scoffed a bit and then slapped him. "What the hell was that?"

"Yeah, what the hell was that?" Dimitri yelled. Suddenly, Ryan slapped me back.

"There! Feel better?" He demanded.

"What the-" I looked at Dimitri and sighed. "Was that what you meant by reality hit into you?" I gripped my fist and attacked Dimitri. "Woah!" Dimitri wrestled with me until he pinned me to the ground. "Snap out of it! I know you're hurt, but this isn't the right way to go about it," I didn't bother in resisting. Ever since that day, nothing felt the same. It was like who I thought I was, that was all gone. "Rose, look at me!" He turned my face to him. I was sniffing and holding back tears but I could tell he sensed fear throughout my body. "You're…scared…" I broke free and ran. Thing was, he wasn't following me. I didn't want him to follow me. I didn't want anyone to see this. Time passed and I kept running, not out of the school though, just enough to drive myself crazy. Finally, I came by the hedge maze in the school garden. There was a rumor saying no one had figured how to get out of it once they got in.

"Rose!" Dimitri grabbed my wrist. "That's enough. Don't go in there. You'll get hurt," He warned me.

"Look, back there, you showed me that right now, the only thing running through your mind is fear. You're scared and confused and hurt and I understand that, but you have to calm down," I pushed him away. It was wrong for me to do that, but right now, I just had myself at this point. I ran into the hedge maze and Dimitri followed. When I turned back though, no one was there. When I ran back to where I entered though, the exit wasn't there. I turned back towards the direction I was walking in earlier though and suddenly the path wasn't there. Was this thing alive or something? I started to run through it, paths and paths and soon, I was completely lost. God, things couldn't have gotten any worse.

"ROSE!" I turned to the voice. "Say something!" It was Dimitri.

"Where are you?" I started to panic.

"Just follow my voice!" I started to run. I ran rounds after rounds and soon I found Dimitri as I exited the maze. Behind him though, was my father. Not Abe, but my real father. Dimitri somehow was being held captive.

"What's the meaning of this…?" I asked warily. I saw Dimitri growling at my father. "Let him go," I warned my father.

"Not until I get something in return," He told me.

"And that would be for me to go to you," He nodded at my answer. "Then release Dimitri first," I told him. Dimitri gave me a look of disappointment.

"Roza, don't! I'll be fine," He yelled.

"You know it doesn't work that way," My father told me. I growled as my fangs started to form again. "So you found about that little secret, huh?" My father smirked.

"Yeah, no thanks to you. Let Dimitri go, father," I growled.

"Father? Oh, so I do have some respect from you. No, I can't do that, sweetheart," He said in a sickening way.

"You need me a whole lot more than you need Dimitri. If I'm not going to you, your plan will never fly off the ground," I argued back.

"Fine. Let him go," They pushed Dimitri towards me and I untied his hands.

"What are you doing?" Dimitri scolded me.

"Saving you," I sunk my fangs into his neck and drank from him. Ironically, Dimitri even held me when I kept drinking. When I had enough, I stopped and Dimitri, from lack of blood and strength, stumbled to the ground.

"Sweetheart, it's time to come home," My father spoke. I smirked and turned at him. Dimitri's blood ran down the side of my mouth and my father was shocked. "You made a deal!" He yelled. Using a newfound strength, I ran and tackled one of my father's henchmen, killing them without hesitation. Bloodlust ran through me as adrenaline pumped through my body. Whoever was bold enough to hurt Dimitri would go through me, even my father. My father sparred with me and we attacked each other. "I don't have time for this little girl," Suddenly he pinned me and bit deep into me.

"Roza!" Dimitri yelled. My body slowly stopped moving as I was paralyzed.

"That's better now," My father spoke. When he leaned down to pick me up though, a barrier protected me. "Just give up you insolent girl!" He demanded. My father started to hit the barrier with intents of breaking it. As the barrier stayed strong, my body grew weak.

"Get off of her!" Dimitri came to rescue me. "Get out of here now before I kill you," he threatened my father and being a coward, my father backed off quickly. "Roza!" Dimitri bent down to me. I pushed myself up.

"You want to be my father?" I looked at my father. He looked back. "Then act like one!" My father looked away. "You're using me to be your own weapon! Look at you! Did you think that I wasn't a normal person anymore just because you created me to be a tool for you? Who do you think I am?" I took off running again.

"Rose!" Dimitri came after me and cut me off. A snarl escaped from me and Dimitri put his hands up.

"Woah, there. It's just me. It's just me," I had to escape. I tried to move around him but Dimitri wouldn't have it. "It's alright. It's just me. It's just me, sweetheart. Fight it back. You're not like this," He told me. My heart pounded and adrenaline kept pumping through me. Soon, my vision blacked out but I wasn't falling. I tried to move but I heard Dimitri's voice.

"I can't see…Dimitri!" Suddenly someone grabbed me and I screamed.

"Rose, it's me!" I shook and tried to fight my way out. "Rose, stop moving. You'll get your vision back when you calm down. That's how it worked last time," I struggled more and more. I couldn't stop. "Rose, snap out of it!" I felt tears stream down my face at this point.

"Rose!" I heard another voice and moved away from it. "What's going on with her?"

"She can't see. She's totally freaked out," I started moving again.

"Rose! It's Abe, can you hear me?" I growled at the voice.

"Abe, don't corner her by any means!" I just ran in a direction and took off like the wind. "ROZA!" Suddenly I ran into a person and fell to the ground. I scrambled to get up, but something was snagged onto me.

"Let go!" I screamed.

"Rose, it's me. It's Dimitri. Just take it easy," I growled at him and suddenly I felt him kiss me. "Take it easy, you'll be okay. You're just on edge. Listen to me. You can't see anything right now, but I'm going to get you to lie on top of me. Got it?" I nodded. Gently, he let me down and I felt his chest moving underneath me. "You okay so far?" I nodded again.

"Yeah," I closed my eyes. He started taking deep breaths so that I was moving up and down on top of him. Somehow, it soon calmed me and I relaxed.

"Now, open your eyes," I slowly opened my eyes and my vision was back. I saw Dimitri underneath me, smiling gently. "See? Now that wasn't too bad, was it? You just have to trust me. That's all there is to it," He sat up and I sat up with him. All the while, he kept brushing my hair, keeping me calm.

"Are you okay? Are you calm now?" I nodded but then shook my head.

"So you're okay, but not calm yet?" I nodded. When I got off of Dimitri, I had a hard time balancing myself.

"Shh…it's going to be okay. Just take it easy and you can take one of your pills when we get back. Climb on," He pointed to his back. I climbed on and he gave me a piggy back ride back to his room. Somewhere in the middle though, I stopped talking. "Rose? Hey, rose!" Dimitri shook me and I opened my eyes again.

"What?" I was tired.

"Oh, nothing. I thought you passed out. We're almost back. Once you take your medication you can go to bed," After a while, we headed back to his room where he gave me the pills and a glass of water. "Are you going to be okay?" He asked. I laughed quietly.

"No. I'm not okay. But even if I'm not, I have to be. That's how it always works, doesn't it?" I put down the glass of water and Dimtri gave me a firm look.

"Please don't say that. Rose, you're still a child so it's alright if you have to give in a bit. You don't need to have a brave front for me," He brushed my hair aside.

"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for myself. Right now, nothing's keeping me grounded. I get confused, scared, angry, happy, and every other emotions within seconds and then I lose it," Dimitri hugged me.

"Shh…it's alright. I'm here. That's what I've always been here for. Look, get some rest and we can talk about this later," I laid down on the bed and sighed. Dimitri sat at his desk and started doing some paperwork. When he caught me staring, he stopped working. "Roza, sweetheart, get some rest. You need it," I didn't answer him as he started working again. I just simply stared. There was something about him working that just captured my attention.

"Dimitri?" I called his name.

"Hm?" He acknowledged me while working.

"Can I have your duster?" He looked at me now, confused.

"Sure," He tossed it to me as I draped it over myself.

"Are you cold?" I shook my head and curled up. The scent of his duster was as strong as a sedative. Soon, clinging on tightly to Dimitri's duster, I fell asleep quickly.

_Few hours later…_

I gasped as I woke up. That dream again, that illusion. Abe's test for Dimitri had become a problem as I had nightmares without end about Dimitri turning into a Strigoi. I wasn't going to let it be true no matter what. As I looked in the room I was in, particularly Dimitri's room, no one was in but me. Where was Dimitri? I looked on the desk and saw a note.

_My dear Roza,_

_ I had an errand to run and you were still asleep. If I'm not back by the time you wake up, go eat dinner without me. You have my phone number. Call me if something comes up and you need me back._

_ Dimitri_

I read the note carefully again. What errand was he running? I laid in bed as I just waited. I had an uneasy feeling after the dream and I wasn't going to go off without him. When I got out of bed, the uneasy feeling lingered. I started to pace and before I knew it, I opened the door and left. My mind was telling me that I had to go find Dimitri. Something was wrong so I started to get dressed and leave. I didn't even know where to start looking so I looked around before I left school grounds.

"My, that's not a smart idea," I turned the minute I stepped outside of the wards and my father was there waiting for me.

"Leave. Me. Alone," I hissed at him. "Where's Dimitri?" I asked.

"Dimitri? Why would I know?" He smiled.

"That dream…that dream's just a dream…" My father brushed my face and I shuddered.

"Is it?" He asked. I started to panic.

"I need…I need to find Dimitri…" I looked around my father.

"Belikov, time for you to show yourself," Dimitri stepped out from the shadows with red eyes. I flinched and moved away quickly.

"Dimitri…please…don't…" I started to cry.

"Roza…I'm sorry…" He started to walk towards me. When he hugged me, I tensed.

"You're so cold…" I felt his face. My strength left quickly and soon my knees gave out. Dimitri held me tight as I felt my heart break piece by piece.

"Roza! Get away from there!" I turned and saw Dimitri behind the school wards. Why were there two Dimitris? Because my legs had given out though, I couldn't move. I used my arms to push but the Strigoi version of Dimitri simply hugged me tight.

"Let go of me!" I screamed. The Dimitri from the school wards stepped out and pulled out his stake.

"Close your eyes!" I followed the command and closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, the Dimitri that was standing next to me was gone. What the hell? I turned and saw my father and the real Dimitri.

"Come back to me, love," I ran with all my might to Dimitri but my father restrained me.

"This time, I win," My father started to drag me back but I used everything I could to get out of his grasp. Dimitri came at my father and tried to tackle him, but my father had his head at my neck, ready to bite. "It's time you came with me, sweetheart. Summoning portal!" A portal opened and I started to fight more.

"Rose!" Dimitri called out. My father stopped so I could see Dimitri probably what would be the last time. "It's alright. No more fighting. I'll find you. I promise," After that, my dad pushed me into the portal and it closed after him. We ended up in a house where a group of Strigoi was waiting for my dad to return.

"Is her room prepared?" A Strigoi nodded and my father walked me up to the room. By this time, I had gotten out of my father's grip but nothing could be done. I had no idea where I was.

"Rose, it's time for you to get some rest. Kevin, look after her and make sure she doesn't escape," My father warned as he left my room, locking the door behind him. I stood to the farthest corner away from Kevin. From the looks of it, he was older than my brother. If I had to take a guess, early twenties would be my guess. The Strigoi watched me carefully but I had no intention to get any closer. He simply looked at me with curiosity and interest.

"You should really listen to your father. Get some rest. I promise, I won't hurt you," He spoke to me in a careful manner, almost as if to not frighten me anymore.

"I can't trust you. You're a Strigoi," I growled. He sighed and came closer to me. Rather than approaching me though, he laid down on my bed and stared at me from there.

"I work for your father, but I have no intention of hurting you whether you believe it or not," I didn't talk anymore. As Kevin looked at me, I looked away. "I'm just looking at you. I'm not going to compel you to do something. Just look at me," I closed my eyes and sat in the closet. "Well, you're pretty stubborn," He told me. Just what was his intention? I gulped and stood up slowly. Kevin's eyes were closed, but they slowly opened again. He moved over on the bed, leaving me room. But he now completely ignored me, probably for the reason I wasn't giving him any attention at all. His back was to me, however, which gave me time. I started to look for a way out. As I saw a window, I snuck over, trying to open it. Kevin dashed out of bed and growled at me. "Don't make this go the wrong way," He warned me clearly. Fire burned in my eyes and I had every intention to escape. As I tried to punch him though, he grabbed my hand and started to tighten his grip. I gasped in pain and he let go.

"I'm faster and I'm stronger than you. You try to pull another move, and I can kill you instantly," He slammed me against the wall and bound my hands with just his grip. I looked away and suddenly he hugged me. "I know you don't want to be here. But your father needs your help. It won't make things easy if you keep fighting your way out," He advised me.

"I'm not going to help him!" I yelled back.

"You don't have a choice in the matter anymore. Your destiny was decided the day you were born," He told me.

"I don't believe in destiny, or fate, or whatever. This is my life. I'll live it the way I want to live it whether people like it or not," I told him. As I tried to get to the window again, Kevin threw me across the room.

"Stop. Now," He warned me a second time around. Finally I stormed out of the room. "Rosemarie!" He yelled after me. I was going to escape no matter what. I didn't care where I was, but I had to leave. As I made my way to the front door, my father's voice stopped me.

"Hold it. Where do you think you're going?" He asked cynically.

"Home. I'm going home!" I opened the door, but he closed it as fast as he could.

"No, this is your home now. I spent so much time trying to get you here. I won't let you leave easily," He told me. I turned around and pushed him away.

"You can't keep me here forever!" I yelled. He totally ignored me though. When I opened the door again, he let me go. As I tried to leave though, I walked into what seemed to be an invisible barrier.

"Like I said, I'm not letting you go back easily," He told me again.

"Spell Error!" The magic spell rebounded and failed to work. I started to slam into it seeing if I could physically break it. Nothing worked. My father had me trapped in a bubble and I didn't see myself going anywhere anytime soon.

"Rosemarie, come back inside and rest," I turned to see Kevin standing, waiting for me. I walked away from him. When I was far enough away, I just yelled.

"DAMN IT!" I slammed the barrier once more, but as expected, it didn't budge. The house had a big backyard so I could still move freely to an extent. When I looked at the back yard, there was a huge garden. Well, if it was one thing I was sure about, it was the fact that my father apparently was a rich man. As I walked, there was a maze similar to the school so I entered it.

"Rosemarie, come back here!" Kevin called after me.

"Seal!" A magic spell sealed the entrance to the maze so that no one would be able to enter.

"Rosemarie!" Kevin called out again. I started to wander through the maze. However, I had no intention of solving the maze. I simply wanted to work my way around, to memorize every detail and dead end in case I ever needed to escape again should anything actually work. As I was walking though, the leaves from the hedge started to move and seal up the path I was walking in. This maze had a spell on it too, similar to the one back at the school. I turned around and went in another direction. Soon, it started to get dark outside so I started looking for a way out. Unfortunately, after many turns, I had no idea which side I was even on.

"Seal, release!" I yelled out. I heard the entrance reopen, but the problem was, the place the sound was coming from was different. Did the entrance shift as well? I started to jog around the maze. Nothing. I couldn't find the exit or the entrance despite the seal being released. Shit.

**So, Rose is stuck in a hedge maze again. Oh dear. Who's going to rescue her? Where did Kevin go when she needed him the most? Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Please review! Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12: The Worst Feeling

**So this is chapter 12! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Richelle Mead's VA characters!**

**Chapter 12**

Soon it was dark and any food I had eaten was long digested. My stomach growled, but nothing could be done. The more I walked, the more energy I would use and that wasn't something I could afford at the moment. Nonetheless, as much as it was a bad idea to get up and move, I had to find my way out. I had been stuck in the maze for a decent six hours and each time I swore I was getting close to the exit, the maze would shift.

"Sir, you have to go find her!" I heard Kevin's voice suddenly.

"I don't have to find her at all! She brought this upon herself!" My father's voice boomed. He was obviously angry, but it wasn't my fault to begin with, right? He was the one who had kidnapped me!

"Sir! She's your daughter!" Kevin argued. "I thought we were doing this to protect her. All she was going to do is kill some people here and there and then we let her go and get back on with our lives. You're not treating her like your daughter! You're treating her like a prisoner, and right now, your goal is at stake too! If she dies, you have no one to help you," I heard footsteps heading towards the maze. "Rosemarie! Are you okay?" He yelled from outside of the maze. I walked towards his voice as my vision blurred. The blood I drank from before wasn't helping at all either. I had no strength. "Rosemarie! Answer me if you can hear me! Let me know that you're okay!" He yelled. I tried to walk in a direction, but soon my body collapsed and I hit the ground. "ROSEMARIE!" Kevin yelled again.

"Blaze…" I whispered. Soon the hedge maze caught on fire and my powers, using any last energy to save myself, gave an opening for Kevin.

"ROSEMARIE!" I laid on the ground as he sprinted towards me. "Rosemarie! Say something!" He shook me as he picked me up. I felt him running as he brought me back into the house. The minute he laid me on the bed though, that was when I closed my eyes. All my energy had been sapped by the maze and it wasn't enough to keep sustaining my body. "I told you to stay. I told you not to run! Why did you run…" Suddenly as the door slammed open, my eyes opened again. It was my father. "You did this to her! You destroyed your own daughter! How could you?" Kevin fought against my father now.

"Shut up!" My father pushed Kevin out of the way to get to me. I didn't have any energy, but I did what I could to move away from my father. In this state, anything could happen. He gave me a hard stare, but at this point, I was more scared than anything else. "Revive," He placed his hand gently on my heart and a pulse of his energy was forced into my body. I gasped in pain a bit as he forced more energy.

"What are you doing? You're hurting her!" Kevin yelled.

"You idiot! I'm healing her. I never said it would be painless," Kevin suddenly held my hand. When my dad stopped and left the room, I turned to Kevin.

"Why…why are you trying to help me?" I asked. Kevin gave me a look and let go of my hand.

"I'm not helping you. I'm helping your father. We need you alive meaning you can't go doing reckless things like that again," He spoke. "What do you want to eat? I'll make you food," I didn't answer him. Something made me sleepy and soon I stopped moving. "Rosemarie, hey, what do you want to eat?" I closed my eyes and the last thing I remembered was grabbing Kevin's hand before I lost consciousness and let go again.

_An hour later…_

I slowly woke up to see Kevin still in the room. Like always, he was doing his job.

"You're finally awake, I see," I turned to him and saw him staring at me like always too.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"An hour. I thought something serious had happened to you physically so I had a doctor check up on you right after you passed out. She said that you were simply exhausted. Here," He handed me a sandwich. "Eat up. You'll need your strength," I shook my head. In this environment, who knew what was in the food. For all I know, someone could've poisoned it. "Rosemarie, I'm not asking you to eat it. I'm ordering you to. It's my job to make sure you're in good condition," He told me stoically.

"Is that all you care about?" I finally asked. "It's been job this, job that. Do you seriously have no feelings for me cause it really seems like it," I challenged him. He scoffed.

"Get over yourself. Look, your father's hosting a welcome party for you tomorrow. You need your strength," I finally started eating the sandwich slowly. Somehow, because I hadn't eaten for a while, my stomach didn't seem happy with food either. I ate about half of it before I stopped. "You're not going to finish it?" Kevin asked. I didn't answer him. He grumbled before snapping at me. "My God, what is wrong with you?" He yelled. "I'm trying to play Mr. Nice Guy here and you're not even giving me a chance. How can I prove to you that I'm not here to hurt you?" He asked.

"You can't. Your kind killed my friend and anyone who is a Strigoi is an enemy of mine. The only Strigoi who was my friend was my brother before he was changed back. But you're not going to change. You have no intention of changing. You're a cold-blooded killer, just like every Strigoi out there. And what's worse is that you're helping my father, who tore me away from my family and the love of my life," I told him. He sighed before leaving the room. I looked at the window again. The barrier around the house was probably still there, but maybe I could figure a way out before he came back up. I headed to the window and slowly opened it. A rush of cold wind blew in and the curtains fluttered against it. I looked down to see that I was on the second story of the house. After, I looked up to see the roof. I was closer to the roof than I was to the ground. Maybe I could get onto the roof and then work my way from there. At least if I was missing, it would take a while for them to realize where I was first. I slowly worked my way out the window and grabbed onto the roof. Lifting myself up, I got onto the roof quietly. Should I make a sound, that was probably going to get me killed. So now what? I looked around and suddenly saw a seal right underneath me. This was probably the spell to the barrier.

"Break," I whispered and the seal started to glow.

"Rosemarie!" I heard Kevin's voice suddenly. Startling me a bit, I stepped back so even if he were to look up, I'd be out of his line of sight.

"My, aren't you being a bad girl," I looked behind me to see my father right behind me. I quickly stepped back, a bit off guard. "Trying to escape again? You know it won't work. I put a level five barrier around this property. Unless you are on level five spells, you're not going anywhere," As he walked closer to me, I stepped back further. When I looked back, I was close to the edge of the roof.

"Just give up, you're not going to win this," He told me. I looked at the seal on the roof again.

"Maybe I don't have to break the spell," I told him. I ran towards him and then jumped to flip over him.

"What the-" I reached the seal and put my hand over it.

"Disable!" The seal sparked and soon the barrier started to flicker. It wasn't enough to break if, but if I timed it just right, I'd be able to leave.

"Why you little-" I ran and jumped from the roof. Just like I thought, I timed it correctly so I ended up on a tree just outside of the barrier.

"Father, surely you didn't think I was that stupid, did you?" I teased him.

"Kevin, go after her," He said on what seemed to be a communication device. I looked down to see Kevin beneath me.

"Rosemarie, don't do this!" I looked at Kevin's face. Why was he so worried about me? "Don't make me come up there!" He shouted. I turned and started to run. But problem was that I was no match for him. His Strigoi speed kept him ahead and that was a problem. "Rosemarie, please stop! You're just going to get into more trouble if you keep this up!" At this point, I already started running so there would be no point turning back. As I kept my speed up though, I ran into a lake. Wait, a lake? I looked and recognized the place. Covering my mouth with my hand, I knew where I was.

"Oh my god, I'm in Russia…" Kevin suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Are you done now?" He asked me in an angry voice. I pulled my arm back and walked over the frozen over lake. "ROSEMARIE!" I turned around to look at him. "Please don't move any further. It's really thin ice!" Why was he still so concerned over me? He started to slowly make his way across the ice. When I took another step, I heard the ice cracking. If I could just make it to the other side of the lake, he would have to stop. I took another step the ice continued to crack. But as I stopped moving, the cracking still continued so I ran. But the first step I took, my foot broke through the ice and I fell. The ice from underneath me gave out and soon I fell into the cold lake. "ROSEMARIE!" He dove after me. The cold water made it hard to breathe as I started to flail in the water. As I swam up though, something snagged onto my foot. I looked down and saw some seaweed or algae wrapped around my ankle. _'Shit.'_ I swam down and tried to release my foot. Cold as it was, I was losing air quickly. My vision started spotting and I was rushing. I saw Kevin come down for me and he looked at my foot, then at me. He pulled me towards him and suddenly kissed me, transferring the air that he held. I started working and pulling and soon my foot was loose and I swam up to the surface. Gasping, Kevin held onto my waist and pushed me up to the surface. I collapsed after surfacing onto a thicker part of the ice. Kevin got up with no problem so he kneeled by me to check up on me.

"Come on, we have to get you back," He said. I shook my head. I wasn't going to go back. "Rosemarie, you'll freeze and die out here if you don't get inside!" He told me. I tried to get up, but my lungs felt as if they were frozen. I started to cough up blood quickly. "ROSEMARIE!" He quickly picked me up and ran back to the house. "Please hang on!" Within due time, I was back where I started. My father was worried too. He started to heal me with every bit of strength he had. In the entire healing process, Kevin held me in his arms. Even now, he was still trying to protect me.

"My lord, please hurry!" Kevin begged my father.

"I'm trying, but her body's giving out on her!" I coughed up blood again and turned towards Kevin, slowly drifting in and out of consciousness.

"Rose, you have to hang on!" He yelled at me. I felt my heartbeat slow. Maybe this time I really was going to die. "Please…"

"Why…" I whispered. "Why save me?" I asked as I curled myself into his arms. Kevin's hands were shaking beneath me.

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU! HAPPY NOW?" He yelled as loud as he could. "I love you!" Tears trickled from his eyes and I smiled. A glow came for my body as a warm feeling started to spread.

"She's healing herself…she'll be fine," My father left the room as I relaxed in Kevin's arms.

"You know, I'm happy that you said you love me, but you know that's a lie, right?" I told Kevin.

"What are you talking about?" He looked at me, hurt.

"It's a lie right? There's no way you can love me. You've only recently met me. Plus, I have Dimitri to go back to," I told him. Kevin stood up quickly and I looked at him confused. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is you just humiliated me. I told you I love you. I wasn't kidding nor was I joking," Kevin stormed out of my room. I curled up on the bed. When he was out of hearing range, I sighed.

"I know it wasn't a lie…" I whispered to myself. After regaining strength from before, I got out of bed. This was as far as it was going to go. I didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted Dimitri to be here. If not, I wanted to go back to him. I started to head downstairs until I heard Kevin's voice.

"Yes, I fell for her. Is that such a big deal?" He yelled.

"Only if you compromise your mission. Your mission is to watch her. Make sure she doesn't escape. That's your duty. Scare her if you must, but she is not going back to the school until she fulfills her part in this plan," My father replied.

"You're going to kill her just like you killed Ryan almost…" I heard Kevin speak again.

"Ryan was weak. She's different. Rosemarie is strong. She's very strong and if she turns against us, there will be major problems. Right now, she needs to know her place. If you love her, so be it. But as long as you fulfill your job, I will have no complaints," I started to sneak downstairs a bit more. I was out of their visual range in the meantime so I kept going downstairs.

"Rosemarie, what are you doing out of bed?" Kevin suddenly turned to me. I didn't answer him as he simply heard me rather than see me. My father stepped out and so did Kevin.

"I don't want to play this game anymore. I've had enough," I opened the door. My father as usual, slammed the door shut.

"You're not going anywhere. I won't allow it," He growled at me. Kevin gave me a cold glare now. I smiled to an extent. It was better he hate me than love me. I opened the door again and walked out.

"You really are an insolent child!" My father yanked my wrist back and I cried out in pain.

"Let go of me!" I tried to pull my wrist back. "Kevin!" I screamed. When I looked back though, Kevin just stood there watching. "I said LET GO!" I pulled again and got out of my father's grip. When my father took a second chance at trying to grab me, a barrier of my own formed, and it shocked him. "Don't touch me!" I roared. I had enough of hurting people, and I had enough of being hurt constantly too. Kevin suddenly started walking briskly to me and just when I thought he was going to hug me or something, I was wrong by a long shot. Instead, he slapped me in the face.

"Know your place, Rosemarie. You're not at home anymore. So face your fear face to face. Grow up," I was shocked. Well, I couldn't say that he was to blame. I made him feel miserable after my last comment to him.

"That's right…I hurt you, didn't I?" I laughed quietly. Tears streamed down my eyes and I touched the barrier. Right then and there, it shattered like glass.

"Summoning portal!" I yelled.

"How did you do that?" My father exclaimed.

"Don't underestimate me," I told him simply. Sadness and anger were the only two emotions I felt so all my powers doubled up from the darkness. "Take me home," I whispered. Then through the portal, I saw an image of St. Vladmir's Academy. "Kevin, you're right. I'm not at home anymore. This was never my home and you were never real. I can tell you I love you, but even then, my heart doesn't even exist here. My heart is back at home with Dimitri. So I'm sorry if I hurt you, but I rather have you hate me than love me. It'll be better for you," I told him.

"Is that why you're doing all of this? Because you think it's better for me?" He yelled.

"I'm sorry," I stepped into the portal and it closed behind me. Before I knew it the portal threw me out into the garden of St. Vladmir's. I quickly ran back to the school dorms, specifically Dimitri's.

"Dimitri? Are you there?" I pounded on the door. I was still crying from the incident with Kevin. "Please…open the door…" I begged before collapsing onto my knees in front of his room.

"Roza…?" I looked down the hallway to see Dimitri. "Oh my god. Roza!" I ran as fast as I could into his arms. "Roza, you're back," He held me tightly.

"Yeah…" I started to cry.

"What happened to you? Did they hurt you?" I shook my head.

"I'm fine…I just want you to hold me. Tell me that I'll be alright…please tell me I did the right thing…" I sobbed.

"Shh…it's going to be okay. That's all that matters," He kissed the side of my face. He quickly called the other guardians informing them that the mission was cancelled. When he brought me in, he sat me down. "Do you want to talk about it?" I felt defeated after leaving Kevin like that.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" I asked Dimitri.

"Why? I guess it depends on the situation. What happened?" Dimitri asked. I laid my head on Dimitri's lap. My father has a Strigoi working for him named Ryan. If I were to guess, he'd be around twenty one years old? Well, turns out that he fell in love with me and I totally humiliated him…" I told Dimitri.

"How did you humiliate him?" Dimitri brushed my hair gently.

"Well, before that I fell into an iced over lake. We were in Russia apparently. The lake was the same one from when I fought Abe and you to an extent. Anyways, my physical condition was terrible after Kevin saved me and I kept asking why he was willing to save me time and again. He then literally yelled out to me that he loved me to keep me conscious. I managed to heal myself in time so I told him that he was lying when he said he loved me. I treated it as a joke because I had to. I loved you. I didn't want to keep his hopes up so I humiliated him to crush his hopes. But then I tried to escape and my father caught me. I yelled for Kevin but he didn't help at all. He just stood there and watched. And even though he was the one who loved me, I felt like I was the one heartbroken," I started to cry again. "Then I just left. I came back here through a portal after breaking the barrier around the house. I left Kevin with the words "I'm sorry"…" Dimitri kissed my neck and just kept me calm. "And now I just feel like I'm the one who got my feelings run over…" Dimitri sat me up so I was facing him and he started to rock me back and forth.

"You're going to be okay. You're just overwhelmed by everything that's happened. You didn't love him back so that's why you felt guilty," Dimitri kissed me quickly and I relaxed my head on his shoulder. "Come on. Go to sleep now. It's late already. I'll be here when you wake," Dimitri kissed me on the forehead as he got into bed with me. He wrapped his arms around me though, keeping me warm which felt really nice. I snuggled close to him and he only held me tighter.

"I love you, Roza," He whispered.

"I love you too," I kissed him once more before I fell asleep.

**So Rose has gotten home on her own, what now? Stay tuned to find out!**

**A/N: For people who are wondering about Two Choices, Feeling Horrible, I decided to discontinue it. The original writer has decided to continue it her way again so I'm giving the right of the story back to her. Also, it has also come to my attention that there are certain people who didn't like how Two Choices, Feeling Horrible turned out in my version, but they are still people who kept reading the story. Seriously, if you don't like it, don't read it. But don't go around telling people that it was terrible just because you didn't like it.**


	13. Chapter 13: Priority Over Risk!

**So here's chapter 13!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Richelle Mead's VA characters!**

**Chapter 13**

_In the middle of the night…_

It was four in the morning and the sun wasn't out. In fact, ever since I came back, the weather in Montana wasn't the best. It was simply dark, just like my mind and emotions. I hurt Kevin and I knew it. Whether I was guilty or feeling bad about it was the only thing on my mind now. But it would've been cruel to give him false hope too so what was I supposed to do? What was right and what was wrong? As I woke up, Dimitri's arms were still bound tightly to me. When I shifted and turned to snuggle against him, he slowly woke up.

"Sorry…" I apologized. He didn't say anything. All he did was smile.

"Are you feeling okay? Are you cold? Too warm?" He asked quietly. I stayed quiet.

"Why am I feeling like this…?" My body started to shake.

"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" Dimitri got me to sit up and face him as he turned on the light.

"Turn the damn light off!" I yelled. A spark of darkness shot at the light, blowing out the light bulb.

"Rose, calm down!" Dimitri brought my face up to him. What he saw was my tear stained face. "Rose…have you been crying all this time?" I slowly nodded.

"I shouldn't have done that to Kevin…" I whispered.

"Oh…now I understand. You're still upset about what happened. Look, Rose, it's late. There's not much you can do about it now. We can talk about this in the morning, alright?" Dimitri tried to soothe me back to sleep. I started to lie down again near Dimitri. He pulled the covers over me and wrapped his arms around me again. "Go to sleep. Okay?" I slowly closed my eyes, but right as they were going to close, it was almost like my body stopped me. I stayed in a half awake state as things ran through my mind. I forced my eyes to close as I grabbed onto Dimitri, my heart rate quickening. He quickly opened his eyes and looked at me. "Oh my god…Rose…" He quickly hugged me and sat up, bringing me up with him. "This might help a bit more," He sat behind me and draped the blanket over the both of us. He then wrapped his arms in front of me as I held onto them. Then, ever so gently, he pushed my head onto his arms, as if to make a pillow for me. "Shh…you're going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay…" And just like he said, it did the trick somehow. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep in Dimitri's arms.

_In the morning…_

When I woke up again, it was ten in the morning. Dimitri wasn't here and there was no note either. Suddenly, I heard knocking on the door so I opened the door. Dr. Olendski was standing there with a scared face.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Dimitri…Guardian Belikov, he was just sent to the local hospital. He fainted in class…" My heart stopped.

"What…he can't…" I looked at the bed and quickly got dressed. The first thing I did was leave the school. Sure, I didn't have a car, but I knew my way there. _'Please God…don't take him away…'_ I thought in my mind. When I stepped out of the school though, Strigoi cornered me instantly. It was pouring rain and I wouldn't have a chance if I stayed out long. I didn't have time for them. But then this time, I had my stake so I gripped it tightly.

"Your father knew you'd eventually leave the school again…" I looked and saw Kevin standing out.

"I don't have time for this!" I yelled at him. The look of his face didn't change.

"You're coming back to your father, Rosemarie," He grabbed my wrist. I quickly got out of the grip. Tears started to flow again.

"I don't have time for this…" I told him.

"I'm of no concern on what's going on in your life," He said monotonously. I started to escape from him.

"Not a good idea," He yanked my wrist and slammed me down. I cried out as I pushed up off the ground to start running again. There was no way to escape though. Kevin just kept cornering me off. Finally I pulled out the stake and held it at my wrist.

"If you want me, you need me alive so I don't think father would appreciate me dead, now would he," I threatened. Kevin froze.

"You don't dare," He challenged. I started to cut my wrist, drawing blood.

"Rosemarie…don't…!" He pleaded.

"Then if you love me, LET ME GO!" I screamed. Kevin stepped back quickly. That was the last I saw of him as I ran towards the hospital. My wrist stung but that was only motivation to keep me going. _'Dimitri…please hang on!'_ I ran and ran until I saw the hospital. When I ran in, my hand was covered in my blood and rain and soaked me through.

"Miss! Are you alright?" A nurse exclaimed. I looked at my wrist as a lot of blood had been drawn out.

"Where is Dimitri Belikov?" I asked. She typed it in quickly.

"He's in room 356. Miss, stay here. I'll get a doctor for you too," She started to get up.

"No, I'll be fine…maybe. I need to see him first though," I ran to the elevators and took it up. I covered my wound in hopes of making it stop bleeding, but it was kind of useless. When I got to Dimitri's room, I stood outside, bracing myself a bit. Suddenly, a bit weak, I leaned against the door. I was still soaked, tears were still streaming down my face and I probably looked like one hell of a mess.

"Miss!" I looked and saw a doctor coming to me quickly. I suddenly ran to him grabbing his coat.

"Is he okay?" I asked.

"Is who okay?" He asked quickly.

"Dimitri…is he okay?" I looked at the doctor. He smiled gently.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up first. You're probably going to lose feeling in your hand soon from so much blood loss," He tried to lead me somewhere but I stepped back. "He'll be fine. We need to get your wrist taken care of first. I'm surprised you're not the one collapsing right now," He took my other hand and got me into an outpatient center.

"This might sting a bit," He sprayed some disinfectant spray on the cut. I gritted my teeth as he stroked my shoulder getting me to relax. "The wound's not that deep. Any deeper and you'd be a patient here getting stitches," He started to wrap the wound and I was quiet. "May I ask if you are Rosemarie Hathaway?" He looked at me, smiling. I nodded.

"I see. Well, your wound's been treated. I won't charge you anything. Oh and here," He tossed me a few towels. "Dry yourself with them," I nodded and ran back to Dimitri's room. When I opened the door, Dimitri was lying in bed sleeping. The doctor followed me to Dimitri's room.

"I told you he'll be fine. He just suffered from exhaustion and some emotional stress. He'll be fine if he stays here for a couple of days," The doctor spoke quietly now. My tears started to trickle onto Dimitri's hand that had an IV needle in it.

"Rosemarie…"

"I did this to him…I caused all this because my father kidnapped me. Doctor, thank you for treating me, but can I be alone for a bit?" I asked nicely.

"Of course. Call me if you need anything," He handed me a card with his phone number on it. Dr. Williams was written on it. After, he took the towel and looked at me. "Get out of those clothes. I'll have a nurse give you a bath robe to wear in the meantime," He left after that. The doctor was pretty kind which was nice. I slowly got out of the cold, wet clothes and sneezed.

"Rose?" I turned and saw Dimitri start to wake.

"Hey…" I quickly wrapped the towel around me in the meantime.

"What are you doing here?" He asked quietly.

"Olendski told me you collapsed," I answered.

"Damn…" He muttered. "You're crying…"

"I'm so sorry…I caused all of this. You overworked yourself trying to find me and then at four in the morning…" Dimitri stroked my cheek and kissed me.

"It's not your fault. If any, it was my fault I didn't take better care of my health," He told me while smiling.

"Why are you still smiling?" I yelled at him. "I did this to you and you know that!" I gripped my fists.

"Roza, look at me," Right as I looked at him, he slapped me the hardest he had ever hit me. I was shocked.

"Never blame yourself for my actions. Ever. My job as a guardian is dangerous. Every time I get sick or injured, you can't keep thinking it's you that caused it. Sure I worked day and night recently trying to find you, but that was my choice to do that. Not yours. If any, blame your father for taking you away from me, and me for not protecting you in a better way," He explained. Suddenly he turned and saw my hand, I quickly hid it.

"Rose, what is that?" He asked.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," I tried to smile now.

"Rose, don't make me force you to say it," He told me in almost an angry voice now.

"It's nothing. Really," I told him.

"Rosemarie, you will tell me how you got that injury, now," He demanded. Even in the hospital, he was still strong as ever.

"Kevin was ready to take me back to my father the minute I stepped out of the school gate. It was raining as you can tell. He wouldn't let me go. I said that I had no time for him, but he didn't care. So I put my life on the line. I said that if he didn't let me go, well, I would kill myself. That was the only thing that would make him stop. He thought I was joking so I proved him wrong. After that, he pleaded for me to stop and let me go," I explained.

"ARE YOU SO STUPID AS TO TRY KILLING YOURSELF?" Dimitri roared at me. I flinched.

"But I had to come see you…I needed to know you were alright…" I tried to explain. He looked away from me.

"Don't…" I pleaded.

"Rose…" He started.

"Don't you dare look away from me! I spent all my energy trying to get here and you treat me like crap because of one little mishap!" I yelled at him, completely snapping. "Tell me you would've done the same thing!" I kept my argument up.

"Of course I would! But Rose, you're still a child! That's the problem!" He argued back. "I know how to work things. I could've even taken down the Strigoi if you wanted me, but you can't. When it's you versus three Strigoi, you are far too weak, especially with your physical condition recently. What if you cut yourself and Kevin didn't give up? You'd be an easy prey for them. Now tell me that I'm wrong," I heard the coldness in his voice, but I had no way of answering because he was right.

"Roza, I love you, and I've been in this profession as a guardian much longer than you have. But you still have your whole life ahead of you. If I died tomorrow, you would still be able to fall in love all over again. But if you died, that would've been the end of my life right then and there," He told me.

"You're wrong…" I whispered while crying.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"You're wrong. I wouldn't be able to fall in love again," I stated.

"And why is that?" He asked in a formal tone.

"Because I would've already died trying to protect you first," I answered.

"No you will not!" He yelled. "Never are you to give up your life for me, is that clear Rosemarie Isabelle Hathaway?" He turned to me with a glare.

"No," I answered. My body was shaking now.

"No you don't understand?" He asked again. "Rose, I'm trying to protect you here. Let me do my job, okay?" He asked in a gentler voice now.

"Guardian Belikov," He froze when I called his name like that. Feeling defeated, I stood up to leave.

"Rose…" He pulled my hand. I took my hand back quickly and started dressing again in the still wet clothes.

"You're really an idiot," I told him before leaving. "Maybe I shouldn't have come in the first place," Then I shut the door behind me, finally sobbing when he couldn't hear me. Why was he being such an ass? Was it wrong of me to worry about him or something? I started to leave the hospital when Dr. Williams saw me.

"Rosemarie, where are you going? You have to get dried off or else you'll get sick," He stopped me.

"I'd rather die than hear what I just heard from him," I left the hospital finally even though it was still pouring rain. My tears mixed with the rain as I just stood right outside the hospital.

"Rosemarie," I looked up to see Kevin standing in front of me.

"Don't mess with me, Kevin. Not right now," He took a step closer nonetheless. That gave him, in return, a shock from my darkness. "This is your fault, so don't you dare come close to me!" I yelled. Kevin stopped.

"Rosemarie, I'm not with the other Strigoi right now. Right now, I'm your ally," He told me. I didn't trust him anymore. Earlier he had shut off almost all his feelings for me. "I followed you here to see what worried you so much and then I heard the argument," He told me softly.

"I'm going home. I've had enough…" I told Kevin. Kevin stopped me.

"At least let me make it up to you and take you back to the academy," He quickly added.

"You're going to take me back to father. I'm not that stupid," I kept walking.

"Rosemarie, I'm serious. You're going to die from a cold if you keep staying outside," He warned me.

"Then let it be on your watch then. I'm sure father will have a fun time killing you because I died," After that I left him at the hospital entrance while I walked back. By the time I got back, the rain had stopped, but I was soaked through again. I headed back to Dimitri's room where I just sobbed. I felt as if someone had just ripped my heart out. It was painful. Then there was a knock at the door.

"Rose, it's Ryan, can I come in?" I didn't answer. He started to turn the door knob.

"GO AWAY!" I screamed. He opened the door nonetheless. Jesus Christ did anyone listen to me anymore? I shocked him with a spark, warning him to back off.

"Woah. Rose, calm down, I'm not going to hurt you!" I shot a second spark at him.

"GET. OUT." I warned him. He was smart though so he quickly left me to drown in my own miseries. Eventually I cried myself to sleep at some point only knowing that I wished I had never woken up today.

_The next day…_

As I woke up, I saw the clock. 5 AM read the clock. I had been asleep for almost twenty four hours. When I looked around, I was still in my same clothes from yesterday. I quickly took them off and changed seeing as how they were still a bit wet. Deciding to leave the room, I opened the door.

"Rose," I looked up to see Dimitri. I walked past him, ignoring him. I had no intention to talk to him like this. "Rose, wait, we have to talk," He grabbed my wrist.

"Let go…" I whispered.

"And what if I don't?" He asked back. I sent a surge of darkness to my wrist, shocking him. He suddenly let go.

"Then I'll make you," After that, I left him on his own. I heard him open and close his door, but I couldn't care less. When I went outside, it was finally quiet. Students were asleep so technically, I had the whole place to myself and taking advantage of that, I went to the gym to train. I hadn't trained in a while and I was starting to get out of practice. The gym was empty so I summoned a spell. "Illusion's magic!" I imagined the forest I was in when I had to save Dimitri. No one was in the illusion but me, making it easy to train. As I headed to the giant tree, I imagined the Strigoi that were there. Suddenly the battlefield changed and I looked. Abe was standing in almost what looked to be training grounds or a battle stadium.

"You're up early," He told me.

"Yeah, slept too much," I told him. He didn't need to know the details.

"Do you want me to help you with your training?" He asked me. I nodded.

"Is there anything else I can do with these powers besides spells?" I asked.

"Of course. You can create anything from your imagination as long as you have a firm image on it," Abe closed his eyes and suddenly a sword started forming on its own. "See? Easy. Try it. Uh…please don't create a weapon. Those are harder. Start with something small, an animal would do. That would lead to summons and these can help you depending what you create. When the final battle happens, you'll be undoubtedly pitted against Kevin if not your own father and only then it will be a battle of creativity and imagination," Abe instructed.

"Alright," I closed my eyes and thought of an animal. What would I create? Then the first thing that came up was as dragon. Hmm, interesting. I focused in making a vivid image of the dragon. A silver dragon, sharp claws, big wings, everything a dragon was supposed to have.

"Woah…" I opened my eyes and right in front of me, my dark powers started to make a dragon.

"So in this situation, to finish the summon, say, "I call forth the dragon of darkness!"" He told me.

"I call forth the dragon of darkness!" I yelled. A gust of wind blew into the gym and the dragon's formation was complete. A live dragon was living and breathing in front of me.

"Give it a command," Abe encouraged.

"Sit," The dragon looked away and ignored me.

"I really hope you're not that stupid. A dragon is a royal creature. You don't treat it like a pet unless you want a bunny rabbit instead, kiz," I laughed nervously. Yikes.

"Follow me," I told the dragon. As we left to the outside, the dragon started to flap it's wings, feeling the air beneath them. "Can I get on?" I asked the dragon.

"Rose, you created the dragon, you're the master of it. No need for permission. Just hold on," I climbed onto the dragon's back. I held onto the dragon's spikes on the its' back.

"Let's fly!" The dragon took off at an amazing speed. I guess my imagination made it strong.

"There's no need to tell the dragon instructions. Use your mind! That's what imagination is for! Use your mind to transfer instructions!" Abe yelled from the ground. I nodded and looked at the direction I wanted to head to. The dragon did as I thought and flew in a circle around the school's clock tower. As I paid attention to the school campus, the dragon's flight wavered. "Stay focused on your flight pattern!" He yelled. I looked straight and saw a tree. Crap. The dragon dodged it and I shut my eyes. When I looked back, I sighed.

"Man, that was close," My heart beat quickly, but calmed quickly too. If this was my real power, this wasn't bad at all. Finally I landed the dragon and got off. That was fun and…dangerous… I laughed a bit as I got off. I was going to have a hell of a time learning this dark power stuff.

**Not much to say. Hope you guys had a nice thanksgiving break for those of you who celebrate it. So, if you enjoyed this, review, please and thank you! **


	14. Chapter 14: Poisonous Fever

**So here's chapter 14!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VA or the characters!**

**Chapter 14**

"So? How did it feel?" Abe came over to me.

"It was fi-" I stopped mid-sentence as I had a cramp through my stomach. Collapsing onto one knee, Abe caught me.

"Hey, are you okay?" I shut my eyes and gritted my teeth, trying to bear the pain. "Rose!" I started panting as Abe dropped me. "Stay here, I'll get Belikov and Olendzki!" When Abe left, I collapsed onto my side and the dragon I had ridden disappeared. Why were my cramps kicking in now? Soon, Dimitri came out and Olendzki did too.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Dr. Olendzki asked.

"Nothing. They're just cramps. That's all," She nodded.

"They're just menstrual cramps. There's not much I can do. She's going to have to get through it on her own. I can give her some medication in the meantime, but I'm not sure how much it'll help. Why don't you get her inside first?" Dimitri picked me up. I pushed him away and fell to the ground.

"Roza!" He yelled at me. I hissed at him. "Rose…"

"What's going on? She's usually not like this towards you," Abe stated.

"No…she's not. She came to visit me in the hospital the other day and injured herself because of Kevin. She cut her wrist to escape him and I yelled at her for it. She's just angry about that. That's all. I didn't want her to risk herself just to see me," I glared at him.

"I'm not angry just because of that. The fact that you never seemed happy for me to see you…that's what hurt me the most," I told him. He looked at me doubtfully.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it. You're angry because I told you that you shouldn't have risked yourself to come see me. I was okay, wasn't I? I would've told you if something bad seriously happened," Dimitri stated.

"Then what if something bad seriously happened and I couldn't get to you in time?" I yelled, starting to cry. "You don't understand anything! You're an idiot! I hate you!" I screamed at him. Darkness raged beneath me and I felt my fangs sharpen. I slowly got up as my cramps were the least of my problems now. I hissed at the three of them, confused by anger. Dimitri pulled out his stake, telling Olendzki to get back inside.

"Why are her eyes red?" Dimitri asked Abe.

"Because you just made her let's say, super pissed off," I snarled and snapped before charging at Dimitri. Dimitri took me and threw me into a wall as I became completely feral. Straight after, I went for Abe. He didn't want to hit me so he just created barriers after barriers.

"How are we supposed to help her like this?" Dimitri yelled.

"I don't know! Calm her down or something! She can't hear us from the looks of it," I attacked each one alternately and all they did was keep defending.

"Then we're supposed to wait until she just magically calms down?" Finally I bit Dimitri and he yelled out. I bit harder until I snapped his bone. He started yelling out in pain.

"You don't understand anything!" I yelled at him. "You don't understand me and you never will because I'm not like you anymore! I'm a monster to you. That's what I am!" I yelled.

"Wait…is that what this is about?" He held his arm tenderly. I didn't let go of him. My fangs had deeply penetrated his arm making it immobile. "You think that I think you're a monster?" He asked quietly.

"Then what am I?" I screamed at him.

"Now I understand…she was using her powers earlier. I think she lost her focus when her cramps kicked in and then when everything went back into her, her powers rebounded and this was the main problem she focused on. She likes her powers, but because she's half Strigoi, she doesn't know who she is anymore compared to the rest of us," Abe explained. "Rose, listen to me! You're still a girl, and you're still Rose! That's who you are! You're the girl who will fight for Dimitri and do anything for him. Rose, you love him!" Abe tried to get me to listen.

"The Dimitri I know isn't here," I gripped my fists.

"Roza, you're not a monster…I never have thought of you as that, nor will I think of you as a monster," He told me.

"That's a lie. Look at your arm," I pulled my fangs out and he winced. My anger soon turned into sadness. "I'm a monster. I attacked you without hesitation. I DON'T WANT THIS ANYMORE!" I yelled at him in tears. I quickly took his gun. "My parents…whoever they really are, they help people. I don't! I'm not even myself anymore!" I just kept yelling. "GIVE MY LIFE BACK! GIVE IT BACK!" I yelled aimlessly. I kneeled down on the ground and covered my head, still holding the gun tightly. "GIVE IT BACK YOU MONSTER!" I suddenly took the gun and pointed it to Abe. "That's right…if I kill you this will all end…just like that…" My hands shook as I was barely even stable. Dimitri was terrified from the look on his face and so was Abe. But I was the one who was suffering the most. All this self-hatred started to bubble beneath and it was finally showing itself.

"Don't do this!" Dimitri warned me. It wasn't like I could even hear him though.

"Dimitri…this girl in front of you right now…that's Rose," Abe whispered.

"I know that!" Dimitri yelled at Abe.

"No…I mean Rose, Lucifer's daughter Rose…the one that never mentally grew up Rose. This is the part she hides within herself causing all this pain. And we were the cause of it. Not Lucifer, but the two of us. Look at her. We didn't pay attention to this. We thought her knowing the secret of her real self wouldn't change a thing, but look at her!" Abe even started crying. "She's so scared…" I kept sobbing. Then my focus came back and the gun was pointed at Abe still.

"Rose! You don't want to do this!" Dimitri yelled.

"Shoot me. If that is what you wish, then shoot me. But I won't ever be here for you again," Abe told me.

"Zmey!" Dimitri yelled. "If you think I'll let you keep torturing her like this, you're wrong!" Dimitri tried to help me.

"Then what will you do, kill me?" Abe looked at Dimitri with animosity now. "Until one of us dies, this chain of hatred will continue!" Abe looked at me with fierceness. I started to press the trigger.

"ROSE, DON'T SHOOT! PUT THE GUN DOWN!" Dimitri yelled again and again. Abe came at me now, full speed with a spark of darkness surrounding his hands. Terrified that he was going to attack me, I prepared to shoot. At the last minute though, Dimitri threw himself in front of me and I stopped, so did Abe. Abe got up and left, leaving only me and Dimitri. "Rose…let go of the gun…"

"I couldn't shoot…" I cried.

"I know you couldn't. It's okay…" Dimitri touched my hands.

"That man…he started all this…I couldn't…why not?" I was speaking incoherently.

"Remember in Spokane, you killed the Strigoi. You saved Mia, Christian, and Eddie," He pried three of my fingers off the gun trigger. "You gave me love again," He pried a fourth one. "You protected Lissa for two years on your own," And suddenly he took the gun from me. The gun fell to the ground with a clatter. "It's your hands…they weren't meant to kill, they're meant to protect…That's why…" Dimitri tried to explain. I looked down, snapping out of confusion, only in tears. My body shuddered and I grabbed Dimitri's duster suddenly, just bursting out in tears, sobbing, letting every fear and grief I'd refused to let myself feel finally burst free, burning in my chest. I could scarcely breathe. He tried to hug me with one arm. "I'm so sorry…I'm sorry…I swore I'd protect you, but look at you. I killed you is more like it," He told me. I kept sobbing. I clenched tightly on his duster and finally sank to his lap.

"Rose…" He whispered.

"Why…is it…so painful…" I whispered. Suddenly I heard a rustling in the trees and saw Kevin show up. I didn't have the energy to move and after I broke Dimitri's arm, we were in trouble.

"It's alright. I saw everything. Belikov, head to the doctor. I'll take care of her for a bit. Trust me," Kevin tried to reassure him.

"And why would I do that?" Dimitri asked warily.

"Go," Dimitri finally took a risk and left me with Kevin.

"You okay?" Kevin looked at me. I was quiet. The minute he tried to hug me though, I pushed him back. I was worn out.

"Rose, let's get you cleaned up alright. The lake is somewhere here right?" Kevin stepped closer and I stepped back. "Come on," He walked me slowly to the lake and sat me down against a tree. Kevin had a small towel and soaked it with the clean lake water. He wiped my mouth to get rid of Dimitri's blood. I had absolutely no strength at all and my eyes were lifeless. "You really did quite the damage back there. You're burning up too," My whole body felt like it was on fire and I didn't even have the will to scream. Kevin held me in his arms and his cool skin soothed me. Before I knew it though, I had passed out in his arms.

_After a few days…_

"Rose…please wake up already…" I slowly opened my eyes and saw myself at the school infirmary. I reached my hand up and Dimitri grabbed it. "Rose! Rose, can you hear me?" He yelled. I saw Dr. Olendzki rush over too.

"Is she awake?" I looked at her blankly.

"Rose, say something," I shook my head. "Can you say something? Please?" He pleaded.

"What?" I whispered. I looked at Dimitri with the saddest eyes.

"Are you okay?" I sat up and Dimitri helped me up. I slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me," Dimitri flinched.

"Rose…I'm just trying to help…" I remembered what happened back on the field. I had turned violent and I attacked Dimitri. I saw Dimitri's arm in a cast and curled up. "Rose…speak to me," He told me.

"Get out…please…just leave me alone…" Dimitri got up and walked out, just like that. My heart had shattered to millions of pieces and I didn't want to fix it anymore. The pain that lingered in my heart reminded me just of who I really was. I saw the face on my father when I pointed the gun at him. I even threatened to pull the trigger. I threatened to kill him. Abe wasn't my real father, but at least he was better than Lucifer. I motioned my hand as if I was holding a gun. I pretended to pull the trigger. What would've happened had I killed Abe? Would Lucifer have won at that point? What would Dimitri think? I got out of bed when Dr. Olendzki had left.

"You really shouldn't be going anywhere," I looked and saw Dimitri standing right outside of the infirmary. He bent down to me, looking deep into my eyes. "The fire in your eyes is really gone…I'm sorry…" He held me close to him, but I didn't struggle, nor did I cry. When he realized I wasn't going to hug him back, he let me go. "I know I'm being selfish, but please give me just a complete seventy two hours with you. Every minute, every second, I promise I'll fix you. You can do anything you want, I don't care. All I want is my Roza back," I looked at him.

"Your Roza is dead," I spat at him.

"No, she's not! She's inside hiding. She's scared of what's happening but she's too headstrong to realized that she's scared!" Dimitri yelled at me.

"What do you know about being scared?" I turned to him in fury.

"I know that you're scared. You bit me, not because you were angry at me. Your statement was a guess. You thought I would one day turn on you, is that right?" He asked. I flinched. "Rose, I've said this time and again, I'll never leave you, Roza. Never. I promise that until the day I die," My body started to shake.

"Don't say that…you don't know what you're doing…" I told him.

"Then give me the seventy two hours to prove to you that I know what I'm doing," He touched my hand and his warmth flowed into my body. I gasped and looked at his arm with the cast. He didn't let go of my hand and I felt his warmth just spread non-stop.

"Warm…" I whispered.

"Are you cold?" He asked me. I looked at him and before I knew it, I leaned into him. "Rose?"

"Warm…you're warm…" I told him.

"Rose…are you okay?" He touched my forehead.

"Damn…come on, back to the infirmary," He picked me up with one arm and carried me back quickly. "Doctor, Rose's fever is back," The doctor came out and I was laid down on the bed. Dr. Olendzki put a cold towel on my forehead and I shuddered. "Is she going to be okay?" I heard Dimitri ask. When I saw Olendzki, I snarled at her.

"Rose, stay calm. She's not going to hurt you," I snapped at her and Dimitri held me back. "What's gotten into you?" I snapped at Dimitri now. Abe barged in and I snarled.

"She's lost complete control. Dimitri, I'm afraid that your Rose might not come back. As her birthday gets closer, her powers will grow at an extensive rate. Right now, what you see, the dark powers are controlling her mind and her instincts. Everything she sees now is a threat to her," Abe explained. "That's why her fever kicked in. Just don't move. She'll calm down on her own," I growled at them, glaring at them all the while. Then the same memory kicked in. I saw Dimitri's cast and stopped. I started to growl in almost what would be considered fear.

"You're okay…" Dimitri put his hand near my head. "You're okay…no one's going to hurt you…" I whimpered as he got closer. "Shh…it's alright sweetheart. You're not going to hurt anyone and I'm not going to hurt you," I lowered my head and he pet me in a gentle manner. "See? Nothing to be afraid of," I gulped. My arms that held me up caved in and Dimitri caught me. "Woah, you're okay. I've got you," But once the second wave of powers hit me, a wave of darkness pushed Dimitri back. Shocks of darkness surrounded me, shocking me every second. I screamed in pain as I had to fight it. I tried to reach for Dimitri's hand. Dimitri in a blink of a second, grabbed my hand, getting shocked. "Fight it, Rose! You're strong. Hold it back!" He yelled. I squinted in pain until finally, I coughed up blood.

"No…! Doctor, get the defibrillator!" Olendzki left to get the equipment.

"What's going on? Why is she coughing up blood?" Dimitri demanded.

"Her heart's starting to give out on her. Her body's not ready! Dimitri, do anything you want. Just get her to cough up all the blood so she doesn't drown!" Abe helped Dr. Olendzki set up the defibrillator. Dimitri held me tenderly as I kept coughing.

"Breathe…I…can't…" Dimitri looked at me.

"Trust me. I'm doing this for you," Suddenly Dimitri punched me in the stomach as hard as he could. My eyes widened as I was forced to cough up a lot of blood. After that, my vision hazed.

"Clear!" A shock entered my body but I could barely feel it. Finally, I heard a crash, yelling, and then blood in my mouth.

"You will not turn her into a Strigoi!" Dimitri yelled. When I regained my vision, I saw Kevin giving me his blood.

"The only blood that soothes her now is my blood, a Strigoi's blood. Her powers savor it. It will stop her from dying in the process until her birthday," Kevin brushed my hair aside. "I will protect you, Rosemarie. I promise." He whispered.

"Her heart's stable…" Dr. Olendzki said.

"I would take her back to her father, but you Mr. Belikov, would not approve. However, use her as he may, Lucifer is the only one who can protect her. He has the technology to save her in the meantime! If she stays here and I'm gone, no one can save her. Her heart will give out on her before her birthday and she will die…" Kevin picked me up.

"Fine. Abe, I'll take her there and stay with her." Dimitri told Abe.

"Alright. But kill him if he touches my little girl," Abe nodded.

"Of course. Kevin, lead the way," Kevin carried me in his body as I stayed weak.

"Portal open!" The three of us went through.

"Kevin, mission accomplished. Wait…what's wrong with her?" My father demanded.

"Lord…forgive me for the unfortunate news, but she's dying. Her powers are starting to kill her. You have to stop it! I beg you, save your daughter…" Kevin pleaded.

"Of course. She's still my daughter. Get her into the healing chamber in the basement," Before I knew it, I was plunged into a container filled with liquid. I struggled to breathe but noticed I could. I saw Dimitri smiling.

"You're going to be okay, Rose…" He put his hand on the glass container and I matched his hand shape.

"Rosemarie, stay in there for the night to recover. The liquid is a special medication I have for you. It'll make your powers go to sleep for a while so your body can recover," I started to cry.

"Rose…Rose…it's going to be okay…" Dimitri soothed me from the outside.

"I'm scared…I'm so scared…" I cried. Dimitri banged on the glass.

"Belikov! Step away from the glass," My father warned.

"Rose, I'm going to head back to the school for a while and report the situation to your father, Abe. Be a good girl, okay? I'll be back as soon as I can. Kevin, can you accompany me?" Kevin nodded. I looked at my father.

"You touch either one of them and I will kill you with no hesitation," I warned my father.

"They are not my concern at the moment. Surely you were not born with a weak body were you?" He asked me.

"Arrythmia," I said. He looked at me. "The car crash? It created the problem every time I freak out. You know about it. Besides that, I'm clear from anything else," I told him.

"Well, your heart rate is stable. Kevin did a good job with you. Yell for me if you need anything. I'll be upstairs. Don't worry, I'll hear you if you try to escape too," He looked at me before leaving.

"Father…!" He didn't stop to wait. He just left. I just started crying, this time with no one by my side. Eventually I fell asleep.

_Few hours later…_

"Rose? Hey, are you okay?" I opened my eyes and saw myself in the container.

"It's just me, Rose," I saw Dimitri and sighed. Pushing the container open, Dimitri held it shut.

"What are you doing?" I was confused.

"I'm doing what's best for you. Right now it hasn't been a night yet. It's only a bit past two in the morning," Dimitri told me. I put my hand on the glass and look at Dimitri.

"Get away from the container," Dimitri stepped back as I shattered it.

"Rose!" I coughed and stood up. An alarm went blaring off and my father came down.

"Rosemarie, what did you just do?" He used a spell to fix it instantly. He would do that. I glared at him. "Rosemarie, you're out of control. You have to heal! You'll only hurt and kill yourself!" I saw the pills on the nearby table. Dimitri grabbed them away from me.

"Listen to him for once. I'm not saying trust him, but he knows how to help you, Roza," Dimitri called to me. I started to leave the room. "Roza!" Dimitri came after me.

"Rosemarie!" I saw Kevin. He smelled good. I smirked and showed him my fangs. Nodding, he quickly cut his palm. I ran to him and started licking his blood. He growled in pleasure as I drank his blood.

"Roza, stop drinking! You'll turn Strigoi!" He told me.

"No, she won't. She's knows her amount. It's just going to be enough to fill her," He gasped again as I continued to drink.

"Just what does your blood have to do with this?" Dimitri asked.

"Not much. My blood sates her hunger while my Strigoi blood poisons her defense systems. Literally, it'll be a drug to put everything on pause for her. It'll stop all her pain, all her powers, and she should return to normal," I stopped drinking and the pain in my body numbs.

"Roza? Roza, look at me," I look at Dimitri and stumbled towards him.

"The poison's kicking in now. Let her rest. Not in a recovery chamber, but on her own, in a bed, safe and sound," Dimitri picked me up and went upstairs to put me in a bed.

"Are you okay? Does anything hurt?" He asked me.

"I'm fine…for now…" Dimitri climbed into bed and held me.

"We're going to get through this…we'll get through this…I promise," He whispered. Kevin's blood kicked in and soon, I was lulled to sleep again.

**So, here's chapter 14! I know it's a bit wild, but I hope you guys enjoyed it. As each chapter progresses, Rose can only lose more and more of herself, but don't worry. Someone will save her! So until then, stay tuned! **


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